South West Community Chaplaincy

Who we are

At South West Community Chaplaincy (SWCC), we help adults who are serving or have served custodial or community sentences, to change their lives, build a better future for themselves and be successfully resettled in their local communities in Cornwall, Devon, or the western part of Somerset.

We are a team of professionals and trained volunteer mentors. We’re there for people in the run up to their release from prison, supporting them to make a positive plan for their future. When they leave prison, we work with them to rebuild their lives in the community.

We bring tailored support through our partnerships with different organisations, such as, housing, employment, health, education providers, and many others, helping people to find work and build new relationships.

Our aim is to show people who have received or served a sentence that a different life is possible – then we empower them to achieve it.

While we are a faith organisation, we work with people of all faiths or none. We bring a committed and non-judgemental approach, and a hope for each person’s future.

Our culture and values

Helping people to achieve the ‘impossible'

Imagine that you’ve just been released from prison. The pressure is on to find work, money and to establish a new life for yourself. It’s disorienting and daunting. You may have no idea of what you want to do. And even if you do, you may not know where to start.

The vast majority of prisoners say they don’t want to reoffend, yet many become stuck in a cycle of reoffending because they lack the support to make positive changes in their life. Some 61% of prisoners who are sentenced to 12 months or less reoffend within a year of release.

At SWCC, we believe that, with the right support and encouragement, everyone can achieve their goal of living a life free from crime by forging a new path for themselves. We walk beside our clients, supporting them to build a better future.

A faith-based approach

Ours is a faith-based organisation. Our foundations are derived from faith-based principles of hope, compassion, forgiveness, the intrinsic uniqueness and value of every person, and the possibility of change and renewal for all, regardless of their past. We accept and value everyone, whether they share our faith, have a different faith or no faith at all.

Above all, what we do works: we’ve helped many people to turn their lives around and leave prison behind them for good. Take a look at our case studies page for some of our client’s success stories.