Willow Service is in partnership between NHS Lothian and the City of Edinburgh Council and they work with a number of different partners to address the social, health and welfare needs of women in the criminal justice system.
Willow aims to:
- Improving women’s health, wellbeing and safety
- Enhancing women’s access to services.
- Reducing offending behaviour.
They offer a wide range of services to women aged 18 years or older, resident in Edinburgh or returning to Edinburgh from custody. Women participate in a programme 2 days a week involving groupwork and key work support. The programme is designed to meet the specific needs of women and is delivered by a multi-disciplinary team. The team consists of criminal justice social workers, criminal justice support workers, a nurse, psychologists and a nutritionist. The team provides a range of interventions to:
- assess all aspects of physical, mental and sexual health
- support follow up where necessary
- help cope with the effects of trauma and abuse
- consider women’s pasts and support them in planning safely for the future
- address offending behaviour
- improve mental health and well being
- develop new skills and coping strategies
- address substance use problems
- develop plans for education, training and employability
- provide new social experiences and relationships
- link women into services.
Beyond Barriers 