About Signpost

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Why Signpost?

There are hundreds of organisations – public services, charities and private companies – that offer services to people leaving prison or who are homeless. The issue is: How do people find the help that is available?

Signpost is the answer! It pulls together information about all the services that people need into one place. It starts by asking people what they want help with, searches its database and selects information which is relevant to their needs.

Who is Signpost for?

Signpost has been designed for those leaving prison or who are homeless and who don't have access to technology. Chaplaincy teams, Probation Officers, Key Workers, Charity Volunteers, and Mentors can ask the people they support to tell them which services they are interested in, and then use Signpost to produce a printed list of services that can help them. See the home page for paper forms that can be used to capture information.

For a one page introduction to Signpost click here.

The Benefits of Signpost:

• It pulls together information about all types of service in one place.
• Individuals can obtain details of services that are relevant to them rather than a general list.
• It produces a printed report for those who do not have access to the internet themselves.
• Information is up to date as websites are reviewed reguarly. [Note that things can change quickly so no guarantee can be provded about the currency of information]

About the Services listed by Signpost:

• The information provided has been taken from the websites of the service providers listed and so is already publicly available.
• The information is relevant to people who want to use the services. It does not include information for donors, volunteers, or others interested in what the service provider does.
• There is no vetting or assessment of the services listed, and so no guarantee can be made about their quality.
• No attempt has been made to provide details of how providers have adapted their services for covid-19. These are changing rapidly in response to government guidelines and people will need to contact the service providers to assess this for themselves.

Who Supports Signpost?

Signpost was set up in response to seeing a prison chaplain being asked for help from prisoners and wondering how he was going to find the information he needed to help them. Involvement with a homeless charity suggested that they had a similar issue. The site was launched in 2020.

Signpost has details of 1500 organisations on its database. Over 200 of these operate Nationwide so you will find help anywhere in England and Wales. Local information is available for Greater London, The North East, Greater Manchester, and Norfolk.

If you would like to volunteer to collect information from your own area then please email loading email....

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Disclaimer: Signpost has gathered this information from public sources. It provides no guarantee as to the accuracy or timeliness of the information or the quality of the services described. Contact the service providers for information about their services.

If you find any information that is incorrect or any new services that could be added to the list then please send details to loading email.... This is not a support service. Any requests for help must be directed to the relevant service provider.