ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role of community-oriented and strengths-building interventions in the context of prison and post-release into probation with a particular focus on those that actively involve positive engagement with community activities and partnership models within the prison and into the local community. Specific examples from our own work in the UK (HMP Kirkham and Jobs, Friends and Houses) and US (The Phoenix) are explored to illustrate how recovery and desistance can be supported through strengths-based approaches. Thus, the UK work focuses on Jobs, Friends and Houses (JFH) and the resulting Kirkham Family Connectors (KFC) work around prison and reintegration, both based in the North-West of England. The US work focuses on the work around “The Phoenix”, an increasingly national organisation that supports recovery through engagement in sports and other physical activities.
