Subscribe to trusted local news
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
03
Jan
Charity-founding couple from Harrogate named in King's New Year Honours list
A Harrogate couple who have devoted their lives to helping young offenders get their lives back on track and stay out of prison have been named in the King’s New Year Honours list.
Terry and Lis Wilcox have been made Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to reducing reoffending and to young people. Their awards are recognition of their work founding and running In2Out, a support and mentoring charity based at Wetherby Young Offender Institution (YOI).
Terry told the Stray Ferret:
To be honest, we were a bit embarrassed by the whole thing. It’s not about us – it's about the work and the things we do. We’re just ordinary folks trying to do the right thing.
The couple founded In2Out as a pilot scheme in 2013, supporting just six young men leaving custody. It was so successful that over the next three years they supported 50, then 60, then 80 young leavers. To date, they have supported more than 900 at Wetherby YOI, whose inmates are aged 15 to 18.
Terry said of the awards:
We were pleased, because it’s an acknowledgement of the importance of young people getting their lives back on track. Many young people have had a very poor start in life – a lot have come from the care system and when they leave it they often have to navigate life without support.
They’re typically moving back into the communities where they first offended, and they’re often back in within 12 months, because they haven’t got the support network or reference points they can reach out to when they’re approached by drug dealers or come across other difficulties.
It has a dramatic effect on reoffending rates. It reduces reoffending by two thirds compared with the national average for that age group.
Wetherby Young Offender Institution. Image: Google Streetview.
In2Out now employs “about a dozen” people and is supported by 25 volunteers. It is funded entirely by charitable organisations and personal donations, with no government support.
Terry said:
The cost of having someone in custody is about £100,000 a year, so the savings to the government are massive.
But that’s not the important thing. It means there’s an acknowledgement that the charity is making a positive difference. We’ve been acknowledged as the founders and leaders, but it’s a team effort involving the staff at Wetherby YOI and youth offending teams all across the north of England. We’re just a player in the story.
Terry, who is also chair of the trustees of Harrogate charity Artizan International and chair of Harlow Hill Men’s Shed, describes Lis as “probably the mother of In2Out”, responsible for almost all the resettlement work.
He said:
We try to be a kind of ‘connective tissue’ for the young person with the rest of their lives. So we work with the statutory services, the legal representatives, social workers and medical profession. We get them registered with a GP and make sure they attend appointments – effectively doing what parents would do.
It’s really about doing the right thing for these kids. We’ve been able to do that, so why wouldn’t we?
You can read our report on the district's other King's New Year Honours recipients here.
1