Service Station supports individuals with experience of the criminal justice system through practical assistance, mentoring, and pastoral care. Established initially as a Sunday breakfast drop-in, we now provide a wide range of services, including court accompaniment, one-to-one mentoring, and through care support for young offenders. Working closely with statutory and voluntary partners, we offer trusted, person-centred support that encourages self-respect, personal responsibility, and long-term growth. Our goal is to help people access suitable accommodation, build positive connections, and realise their potential within the community.

Service Station’s approach is characterised by seeking to understand and honour both perpetrators and victims as individuals; it is person-centred, and strengths based. Above all, it is grounded in building trust with service users. While statutory agencies may also adopt elements of this approach, particularly as it aligns with desistance theory, being part of the voluntary sector makes us especially well placed to deliver it. We argue this is because we are more able to build trusting relationships with service users and more able to provide continuity of care over many years, whilst being less encumbered by associations with the justice system, and being able to maintain closer, more authentic links with the communities in which we all live.