Health & Wellbeing Community & Social Justice 2025
The Forward Trust

The Forward Trust Annual Review, Accounts and Impact Report 2024/25

The Forward Trust is a social justice charity with nearly 35 years of experience supporting people to recover from addiction and leave behind crime. In 2024/25, the charity reached 35,325 people — its highest ever — across 74 contracted services in 28 prisons and community settings across England and Wales. Services span substance misuse treatment, talking therapies, criminal justice personal wellbeing, employment, residential rehabilitation (Clouds House and The Bridges), family support (M-PACT in 21 local authority areas), and the Forward Connect peer recovery community. Chairman is Tony Adams MBE. Key 2024/25 highlights include a 50% improvement in continuity of care from prison to community, 550+ Naloxone kits distributed, and the launch of a new counselling service for women in Surrey prisons. The charity reported a £1.377m deficit in 2024/25, partly attributable to a £850k increase in employer National Insurance costs.

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📋About

Substance misuse treatment and talking therapies in 17 prisons and 6 community services; criminal justice personal wellbeing services across 9 probation regions; employment careers advice and guidance in 9 prisons; Blue Sky grounds maintenance enterprise (12 contracts); residential rehabilitation at Clouds House (Wiltshire) and The Bridges (Hull); M-PACT whole-family addiction support in 21 local authority areas; Recovery Houses; Forward Connect peer community; digital inclusion partnership with The Good Things Foundation; Naloxone Pathfinder Project Custom geography from upload: England and Wales (28 prisons, 22% of prison estate)

📊Key Metrics

35,325 people supported in 2024/25 — 3,000 more than the previous year and the charity's highest ever reach — across 74 contracted services in prisons and communities Key Metric 1
Continuity of care rate from prison to community treatment increased by 50% following the launch of a new working group, with 69% of Forward Trust prisons improving their continuity of care data by early 2025 Key Metric 2
550+ Naloxone take-home kits distributed across 5 Surrey prisons; 77% of clients completing counselling showing a noticeable decrease in depression and 83% a decrease in anxiety Key Metric 3

✅Key Outcomes

  • One-to-one counselling for women in 3 Surrey prisons (HMP Send, Downview, Bronzefield) received 200+ referrals and 800+ hours of delivery, with 77% of completers showing measurable reduction in depression and 83% in anxiety — recognised with a Forward Trust Impact and Innovation Award and praised by HM Inspectorate of Prisons
  • The Continuity of Care Working Group increased Forward Trust's internal rate of prison leavers entering community substance misuse treatment within 21 days by 50%, with 6 prisons now performing above the national average — addressing a long-standing systemic gap in the transition from custody to community healthcare
  • 35,325 people reached in 2024/25 — the charity's highest ever — across 28 prisons (22% of the prison estate) and community services in England and Wales, with 900 employees and 400 volunteers (around 40% of whom have lived experience of addiction or the criminal justice system) delivering 74 contracted services

📍Geography

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