By City AM reporter
Legendary Madness frontman Suggs challenged 300 business people to give ex-offenders another chance at the 11 Anniversary Gala of Bristol and Somerset-based crime prevention charity Key4Life.
Taking place at The Lindley Hall in Westminster, the event celebrated Key4Life’s remarkable 11 years of unlocking the potential of some of the most disaffected young men in Britain.
Suggs, aka Graham McPherson, who first met Key4Life at HMP Isis in 2014 when he performed his OurHouse musical alongside inmates from the prison, gave a stunning performance at the Gala event.
Suggs said: “I believe that we all make mistakes. Before Madness hit the big time, we all had brushes with the law and would have almost certainly ended up jailbirds if music and success hadn’t saved us. So I challenge companies across Britain to give young men of an offending background another chance.
“With the cost of living crisis leaving many in the UK struggling to cover essential costs and keep their homes warm, crime rates are rocketing, and prison leavers are especially vulnerable. Providing these often brilliant young men with jobs is the best chance they have of staying away from crime.”
Addressing the audience – which included business leaders from KPMG UK, NBC Universal, Northern Trust, Havas, Harbottle & Lewis and Serco, and Lord John Bird, Founder of The Big Issue – two ex-offenders from the south west and a former gang member from London, shared their personal experience of how finding a job had been the critical factor in helping them turned their lives around.
In a harrowing speech, Georgie – a middle class mother – shared the horrors of her 15 year-old neurodiverse son being groomed by a gang and her pain and anguish as he now awaits trial and custody at the age of 19.
“Vulnerable youngsters who struggle and don’t fit in at school are being lured down a criminal path by gangs telling them they can be part of a tribe,” Georgie explained. “We need change, no child in our society is safe.”
The evening also featured an inspirational live set from five Key4Life alumni MCs who performed their new track Bad Habits from the forthcoming Key4Life Volume II EP.
This release continues the mission of Key4Life Volume I – which in collaboration with Sony Music UK (and produced/overseen by Fred Again and DJ Semtex), provided a platform for ex-offenders to share their stories and influence others positively through music.
Launched with Sir Bob Geldof in 2012 – in response to the 2011 Riots – over the last 11 years Key4Life has helped turn around the lives of over 700 young men in prison and at risk of going to prison, and reached over 7000 children through its schools and community work.
The charity’s evidence-based, seven-step rehabilitation programmes help the men to build resilience, unlock negative behaviours and fast track their employment through a powerful blend of music and equine therapy, football, boxing, mentorship and employability training.
Tonight Key4Life shared its latest independent research findings, highlighting the extraordinary success of its seven-step model for transforming lives, including the following results:
- 65 per cent of Key4Life’s graduates are employed within a year of release (versus a government rate of 17 per cent)
- The re-offending rate of Key4Life graduates is just 14 per cent (seven per cent in 2002), compared to a government rate of 64 per cent
- The Social Return on Investment of Key4Life’s programmes over three years is £13.46, which equates to £4.08m in benefits to society over three years (through economic gain, avoided public spending and health and wellbeing gains for those involved)
Eva Hamilton MBE, founder and chief executive of Key4Life, said: “Tonight has highlighted the importance of giving ex-offenders another chance. These young men are an untapped pool of potential, as demonstrated by how many of our graduates go on to get jobs in the City, the media and beyond.
“We need more businesses to step up and provide jobs – it can make the difference between a life saved and a life lost to drugs and crime. Everyone deserves another chance.”
