Working together to change prisoners’ futures
Your Consultation Group
Your Consultation Group Community Interest Company (YCG Trust) is a Social Enterprise Company dedicated to changing the lives of prisoners.
Our YCG Citizen™ and Pathways™ Programmes are dedicated to re-integrating serving prisoners and prison leavers into society so they can lead fulfilling, offence free lives. Our aim is to ensure every YCG Citizen™ leaves prison with a guaranteed offer of employment and accommodation on release.
Our Beginnings
Your Consultation Group (YCG) began life in 2015 as a Peer-Led Initiative (PLI), designed by our founder, Raff Esposito. Whilst in prison he completed his law degree and set about making an impact in his community.
With support and funding from Senior Managers at HMP Oakwood Raff set up our PLI. The programme has enabled thousands of prisoners to engage with their sentence planning and effectively prepare to re-integrate into society.
From these beginnings, YCG Trust was born.
Our Philosophy
YCG Trust incorporates The Chrysalis Philosophy into every aspect of our work. Our integrated toolkit allows prisoners and prison leavers the capacity to successfully re‑integrate into society. We collaborate with our Justice Partners and stakeholders to ensure the key drivers of change are built into our work with prisoners.
By engaging all stakeholders with our five step ‘EETEA’ approach, citizens are focussed on their reintegration into the community, dramatically reducing the risk of recidivism.
Engagement
Creating capacity for ownership and positive change within prisoners’ lives.
Education
Completion of essential core numeracy, literacy and thinking skills.
Training
High-quality, industry specific skills matched to employers’ needs.
Employment
A guaranteed offer of employment on release for all YCG Citizens.
Accommodation
Secure, long-term accommodation on release into the community.
Our Programmes
The Chrysalis Programme was developed by David Apparicio MBE in 2008. The programme creates capacity within prisoners by helping them to think differently, change attitudes and behaviours so that they can drive positive change in their lives.
Having completed the programme, YCG’s founder Raff Esposito was inspired by the focus on re‑integrating prison leavers into society through positive change which starts during the sentence. As a result of this experience, Raff and the YCG team have integrated the Chrysalis Philosophy into our YCG Citizen™ and Pathways™ Programmes to provide the support, structures and expertise needed to drive effective change.
Latest News
Your Consultation Group is always forging ahead with new exciting relationships and initiatives; follow us on our journey through the justice space and learn more about YCG.
YCG builds Diversity and Inclusion into its Employer Charter
Your Consultation Group (YCG) is seeking to help employers meet their Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) and Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) aspirations. Under current legislation, employment frameworks require employers to avoid acting in a...
YCG appoint former Network Rail lead consultant as Director of Human Resources
Vince James B.E.M. AIRO joins Your Consultation Group (YCG) on 1st June as Director of Human Resources. Vince will spearhead collaboration with industrial heavyweights including Network Rail for supporting serving prisoners and prison leavers into employment and...
YCG provides digital access to Hardman Awards
Your Consultation Group and The Hardman Trust have joined forces to provide access to training grants through YCGs digital platform. In a first for the criminal justice system, from June 2023 serving prisoners and prison leavers will be able to apply for Hardman...
For many years now our dedicated staff at Oakwood have worked tirelessly and creatively to empower prisoners to play a key role in peer-led projects and initiatives within the prison. I am pleased to see their hard work, and the positive impact they’ve had on the men at Oakwood, has been recognised by inspectors. These initiatives help the men in our care to learn useful skills, work together and dedicate their time to purposeful activities that will benefit their lives in the prison, enhance their opportunities when they are released and help to prevent a cycle of reoffending. The levels of prisoner engagement and the scope of this work were exceptional.
– Sean Oliver
Director, HMP Oakwood, G4S
Your Consultation Group (YCG) is a peer led service in HMP Oakwood which aims to provide prisoners with information about prison rules and prison service instructions relevant to difficulties they may be having in prison. Prisoners can access the service using YCG application forms which are available on the wings, and by speaking to the reps who regularly tour the wings to promote the service. The success of the service is in no small way due to the support it has received from wing staff right up to senior management. YCG reps report having been given responsibility and trust right from the beginning.
– Prison Reform Trust
September 2018