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The RISE Director of Operations, Kelly Rust, has been shadowing Glenn Charles in order to build a picture of a day in the life of a Facilitator. Here she tells us of her time in Ilford and of her experience of observing a Building Better Relationship (BBR) session: 

Our Building Better Relationships programme is designed to promote lifelong changes in behaviours and attitudes which, in the past, have resulted in male service users being convicted of intimate partner violence or abuse.

I met Glenn in Ilford to spend a day on the ‘front-line’ of service delivery. I wanted to build a picture of what a day-in-the-life of a Facilitator looks like.

Glenn was already in the office when I met with him. He was starting his day by putting the finishing touches to some Post Programme Reports (PPRs). I was impressed with his organisation; he has a tried and trusted method of completion which involves him completing the PPR as the service user moves through the programme.  This seemed to be a very effective process as the PPR does not feel like such an onerous task when the service user completes. 

Glenn and his co-facilitator, Austin, met in the group room where they prepared the room and decided on the sharing of exercise delivery. They recapped each of the service users to remind themselves of each of their circumstances and to give me some insight into the composition of the group.   

The service users arrived on time and I liked the relaxed and informal atmosphere that Glenn and Austin had cultivated. The session was early in the service users’ journeys and yet they were speaking of making changes to their lives and it was clear that some of the skills promoted by the programme was becoming embedded in in their consciousness. Two of the participants had recently been offered jobs and one had started training since they began the programme, which was a great achievement and really well received by the rest of the group.  It felt like a support group more than a session at times and there was also room for humour and banter which the facilitators managed well.  

The group felt like a safe place for the men to express themselves: one service user spoke of problems he was currently encountering whilst another said that he actually missed coming to the session previously as it fell on a Bank Holiday Monday.   

I was very impressed with the skills of the facilitators. They were inspirational! They were supportive but also prepared to challenge when necessary. Glenn and Austin demonstrated real unity and collaboration. This certainly enhanced the impact of the material and were attentive to ensuring that the service users were given the opportunity to get the most from the programme. 

It was a great experience engaging with the service users and seeing our work have a real impact on people’s lives.

To find out more about our Building Better Relationships (BBR) programme, please contact us.