Our impact

Diane Johnson, Enfold Charity writes for the Big Issue on the impact of the proposed government welfare reforms for autistic people.

Sharon Mcpherson, Families in Harmony published her Churchill Fellowship Report ‘Kinship Care: JA to UK – Family Dynamics, Culture & Gender Context’.

Debs Teale contributed insights to the APPG on Creative Health’s discussion on the role of creative health in prevention. Watch the discussion here.

Emma Pears’ SELFA was featured on BBC Look North, supporting young people struggling with school attendance. Watch the video or read the article.

Jan Cunliffe and JENGbA contributed to the creation of “In It Together: The Joint Enterprise Podcast,” a four-part series hosted by Maxine Peake, exploring the complexities and human impact of Joint Enterprise law.

Jan Cunliffe and JENGbA gave evidence at the new Westminster Commission on Joint Enterprise to support their campaign to reform the use of Joint Enterprise law.

Jan Cunliffe‘s podcast, “In It Together: The Joint Enterprise Podcast,” was featured in The Guardian’s “Pick of the week” section. Jan Cunliffe’s JENGbA addresses the complexities of the UK’s Joint Enterprise law, and more information can be found at The Guardian and Acast.

Lady Unchained‘s powerful voice and artistry have been recognised by The Radio Academy, with a nomination for a prestigious ARIA (Audio & Radio Industry Award). Read more here.

Maggie Gordon-Walker, Zinthiya Ganeshpanchan, and Shanine Fasasi from our Spokesperson Network have been recognised in the WISE100 list of inspiring women in social enterprise.

Rosemarie, as part of our Future Voices program, in partnership with Voice of Domestic Workers, Rosemarie bravely shared her harrowing experience of modern slavery and its impact in a powerful Big Issue article, highlighting the urgent need for change in the treatment of migrant domestic workers. Read here.

Steve Arnott facilitated an event with the Beats Bus where Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey and mayoral hopeful Mike Ross “hit the decks” to spin up mayoral election support. Steve Arnott’s work was covered by the Hull Daily Mail.

Six members from our Spokesperson Network were selected as part of Big Issue’s Top 100 Changemakers for 2025: Lady Unchained, Emma Pears, Expert Citizens (Darren Murinas), Families in Harmony (Sharon McPherson and Johanna Bernard), My Life My Choice (Benjamin McCay) and JENGbA (Jan Cunliffe).

Emma Pears was interviewed by BBC Radio Leeds for Children’s Mental Health Week to discuss Parental Mental Health and its overlooked impact on Children’s Mental Health.

Craig Jones MBE wrote an op-ed in The Big Issue on the historic announcement of a £75m government scheme to support LGBT+ veterans and those affected by the LGBTQ+ ban in the armed forces.

Sue James was quoted in The Times in an article titled ‘Justice secretary boosts legal aid but recruitment is a problem‘ highlighting the concerns of campaigners calling for urgent action to address the growing loss of lawyers from the publicly funded sector.

Ric Flo and founder of Black Care Experience Judith Denton wrote a piece for The Big Issue on their song, ‘All I Need‘, about the realities of growing up Black in the care system

Jan Cunliffe was on BBC Radio 4’s The Law show discussing the parliamentary inquiry and the Law Commission reviewing Joint Enterprise.

Craig Jones MBE was featured in various publications on the pressing need for action regarding LGBT+ veterans’ rights. The story was in The Independent, BBC News, and The Evening Standard.

Palma Black was as on BBC Radio London speaking about Soul Purpose 360’s #DefinitionRedefined campaign and why we should challenge the labels used to describe Black women.

Maggie Gordon-Walker was on BBC 5 Live speaking about maternal mental health and peer support in response to the Maternal Mental Health Alliance’s report which showed access to support is a postcode lottery.

The Voice of Domestic Workers’s piece with Channel 4 News was nominated for the best broadcast piece dealing with the story ‘The domestic slaves rescued from London’s richest streets‘, which featured members of the Future Voices Network and Marissa.

Emma Pears was interviewed in The Big Issue on how SELFA Children’s Charity are supporting families as poverty and the cost of living crisis hits rural areas in North Yorkshire.

Lady Unchained on the award-winning Media Storm podcast on prison overcrowding.

Lady Unchained was interviewed on BBC Radio 1Xtra discussing the BBC series Tagged and how art can support people coming out of prison.

Craig Jones MBE was quoted in The Guardian, The Independent, Daily Mail and across the media about the UK’s first ever memorial to LGBT armed forces personnel.

Palma Black wrote an op-ed for Inside Housing about challenging narrative of black women in social housing and increasing equality, diversity and inclusion efforts to tenants.

Noani, from the Voice of Domestic Workers’ Future Voices network, wrote a Mumsnet guest post about her journey to the UK as a migrant domestic worker.

Marigold Balquen, from the Voice of Domestic Workers’ Future Voices network, wrote an opinion piece in The Big Issue on her experience as a migrant domestic worker since the Overseas Domestic Worker visa was revoked in 2012.

Steve Arnott was profiled in The Big Issue. He spoke about how the Beats Bus is using hip-hop to fight poverty and protect young people from gangs in Hull.

Jan Cunliffe and JENGbA played a pivotal role in challenging the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to monitor joint enterprise cases for racial bias, highlighting how these prosecutions disproportionately affect young Black men. Jan was quoted in The Guardian.

Palma Black was interviewed by BBC Radio London about her organisation Soul Purpose 360’s campaign, Definition Refined, aimed at changing the narrative around Black women.

Sue Beere was on The Modern Mann podcast hosted by broadcaster Olly Mann to talk about her campaign with law charity APPEAL to overturn her husband’s conviction.

Craig Jones MBE and Fighting with Pride had a huge campaign win when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak formally apologised on behalf of the State to LGBT+ veterans for the homophobic ‘gay ban’ in the military in place until 2000.

Amanda Hailes was on the Turnaround Project’s The Lived Experience Series podcast sharing her story of becoming a social justice campaigner, author and advocate of Untold Story in Hull.

Steve Arnott was on the Turnaround Project’s The Lived Experience Series podcast sharing his inspiration for creating the Beats Bus and using music to empower young people.

Darren Murinas was on the Turnaround Project’s The Lived Experience Series podcast on his journey to becoming the CEO of Expert Citizens CIC.

Chloe Juliette was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Fixing Britain with Louise Casey about policy and the care system.

7 of our Spokesperson Network were highlighted in Big Issue’s Top 100 Changemakers 2024: Yellow Brick Road Projects (Siobhan Down), Bridging Barriers (Kevin Osei), Peer Power Youth (Anne-Marie Douglas), The Voice of Domestic Workers (Marissa Begonia), Zain Hafeez, Craig Jones MBE and Maggie Gordon-Walker.

Sounddelivery Media was highlighted as one of Big Issue’s Top 100 Changemakers for 2024 for ‘Media and campaigns’.

Kellie Ziemba was interviewed by BBC Radio Coventry Warwickshire about her organisation Kairos WWT search for a new home in Coventry.

Ben McCay was quoted and wrote a first person article in The Times about My Life My Choice’s ‘Don’t Lock Us Away’ campaign.

Lady Unchained was interviewed in The Daily Mirror for an article titled ‘Brenda proves women can turn their lives around after being released from prison.

Lady Unchained was on BBC Woman’s Hour about Jimmy McGovern’s series Time and how short prison sentences impact women.

Jan Cunliffe and JENGbA were featured in BBC Radio 4‘s show Law in Action on an episode about Joint Enterprise.

Members of The Voice of Domestic Workers network, Future Voices, were featured on the BBC World Service documentary, ‘Other People’s Children’.

Sue Beere wrote ‘Bound By Injustice: no stigma, no shame or judgement’ for The Justice Gap

Debbie Iromlou wrote ‘As an adult adoptee, I want to see children being put at the heart of adoption‘ for Children and Young People Now

Kellie Ziemba an op-ed for experience the Third Sector titled ‘Charities must recognise the immense value of lived experience’

Ellie Hatto was a guest on the Mentally Yours Podcast and wrote for Metro UK on the loss of her dad to suicide and how she’s supporting others.

Sabrina Jones, Rachael Mole, Sam Billingham and Steve Arnott joined NPC Open Philanthropy Panel made up of funders, research/policy makers, practitioners and people with lived experience.

Shanine Fasasi wrote an op-ed for Children & Young People Now titled Let’s break the cycle of black boys being failed by the education system

Zain Hafeez and Jan Cunliffe Co-Faciliated a session for NEON with Jude Habib on supporting people with lived experience in the media.

Kevin Osei spoke to GMB on A level results day on alternative paths to employment, and wrote for CYPNow on ‘The power of mentoring in bridging barriers to success‘.

Johanna Bernard wrote ‘Acknowledging the role of kinship care on Windrush Day’ for Children Young People Now.

Alan Stuart was featured and interviewed in The Daily Express for an article was titled ‘Family calls for new emergency 999 number after son, 23, left home and never came back’ about campaigning for 24/7 mental health emergency helpline.

Zain Hafeez appeared live on BBC Newsnight where he spoke on the Illegal Immigration Bill.

Sabrina Jones wrote an op-ed in Children and Young People Now titled ‘Let’s halve school exclusions by the end of the decade’.

Craig Jones MBE in the Big Issue on his story and Fighting with Pride’s campaign for reparations. Part of a series of 4 articles.

Samantha Billingham was interviewed by BBC West Midlands about coercive control and the Government’s proposal to put controlling behaviour on par with physical violence.

Jan Cunliffe was interviewed by The Guardian about JENGbA’s win against The Crown Prosecution Service and changing joint enterprise prosecutions to be monitored for racial bias.

Emma Pears and the SELFA Youth Council were interviewed by BBC Radio York about supporting children’s mental health in rural areas.

Shaffia Khatun was interviewed by BBC Radio Leeds about her work at SKY Positive Minds and supporting the mental health of women and girls.

Sharon McPherson wrote ‘Consider the children: Why localism needs to be a devolution of resources not just power’ for Children & Young People Now about local authorities safeguarding children.

Lady Unchained gave an interview to BBC 1xtra about finding community in life after prison.

Anna Wardley spoke on BBC Radio 4’s Four Thought on why we need better support for children & young people who lose a parent or care giver to suicide.

Emma Pears wrote ‘Calling for a better way of funding our small grass-roots charities’ for Charity Times.

Emma Pears was interviewed by BBC Leeds about her report looking at mental health support for children.

Rachael Mole wrote ‘My disability costs me at least £500 per month’ for Metro UK.

Samantha Billingham wrote ‘As a domestic abuse survivor, I know Christmas can be the most feared time of the year’ for Metro UK.

Emma Pears was interviewed in the Yorkshire Post about her report finding that there is no mental health support close to home for children in rural areas

Chloe Juliette wrote ‘Once upon a time: a care leaver’s response to the John Lewis advert’ for Children and Young People Now. 

Rachael Mole spoke to BBC Midlands and BBC News on the ‘Disability Tax’ the cost that disabled people have to pay just to live day to day. It came after her tweet on the topic went viral.

Craig Jones and Fighting with Pride were across Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch, BBC News, and BBC Radio sharing stories from with LGBT+ veterans, raising awareness of the LGBT Veterans Independent Review.

Lady Unchained wrote ‘A jail term for GBH felt like the end of my life – but it was also the start of a better one’ for The Guardian’s ‘The moment that changed me’ column.

Emma Pears wrote ‘Why early intervention is vital for children’s mental health’ for Children and Young People Now.

Sharon McPherson wrote ‘Kinship care and the cost-of-living: A system broken for decades’ for Children and Young People Now.

Rosie Hodsdon wrote ‘The cost of living forced me into sex work – and this winter many more people will be too’, an opinion piece for the inews.

Jan Cunliffe wrote ‘My blind son was jailed for being at the scene of a murder. Halt this tide of joint enterprise convictions’, an opinion piece for the Guardian on the recent wave of Joint Enterprise convictions.

Chloe Juliette gave this powerful Four Thought talk on BBC Radio Four. Which was adapted for her piece ‘All children in care deserve to be heard’ in Children and Young People Now.

Lady Unchained interview ‘Poetry unlocked the doors to prison’ by the Islington Tribune explored racism in the justice system and her book Behind Bars.

Debs Teale wrote ‘I was angry that I survived my suicide attempt – and then I discovered painting’ for Metro UK for Mental Health Awareness Week.

Steve Arnott wrote ‘I only found out that I share a name with DCI Steve Arnott when my bowel exploded’ for Metro UK.

Debs Teale spoke to the Yorkshire Post on how an art class changed her life, and why social prescribing should be a priority in mental health.

Beth Thomas spoke to BBC Radio West Midlands for Children’s Mental Health Week.

Debs Teale spoke to BBC Radio Leeds on why she’s advocating for creativity for Mental Health.

Lady Unchained featured on the Second Chance Podcast by Raphael Rowe.

Steve Arnott wrote ‘Creativity curbs crime: the hip hop artist and campaigner determined to end ‘county lines’, an opinion Piece for Children and Young People Now.

John Crilly featured on the Better Human Podcast.

Craig Jones MBE interview ‘Admirals would say: we don’t want to serve with these people’ – Craig Jones, the sailor who came out and changed the navy’ in The Guardian G2.

Marie Van Herteryck wrote ‘While my daughter was being diagnosed as autistic, her doctor told me I am too’ for Metro.co.uk on being diagnosed with Autism at 45 and the importance of Autistic-led organisations.

John Crilly wrote ‘I’m the only person to have my conviction quashed. There are hundreds of cases more ‘unsafe’ than mine’ for The Justice Gap on Joint Enterprise and the change that is needed.

Marie Van Herteryck spoke to BBC Radio Three Counties on her late diagnosis of Autism.

Jasmine Moreton wrote ‘I have a stammer that means I can’t say my own name – I want to hear more voices like mine’ for Metro UK, following the campaign #NoDiversityWithoutDisfluency.

Beth Thomas wrote ‘The urgent need to tackle growing children’s mental health emergency’ for Children and Young People Now on the Child Mental Health Emergency, and shared her own experiences.

Craig Jones wrote ‘This Remembrance Sunday, I will also be thinking of LGBT veterans and those who stood by us’ for the Metro UK on the 24 LGBT+ veterans were invited to the Cenotaph for the first time. More stories from Fighting with Pride were published in this article.

Jasmine Moreton spoke live on BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire for International Stammering Awareness Day about why we need to hear more stammering voices in the media.

John Crilly featured on the Tortoise Media Podcast, and spoke at a live ThinkIn sharing his story and how it illuminates a wider injustice for those convicted under joint enterprise.

Angela Frazer-Wicks gave this talk for BBC Radio 4’s Four Thought.

John Crilly wrote ‘BBC’s drama Time took me back to being inside – I hope it showed the public how painful prison is’ for the I News on Jimmy McGovern’s prison portrayal in the BBC’s drama Time.

Simeon Moore gave this talk at the Rotary District 1200 Conference.

Journalist Milly Chowles interviewed Angela Frazer-Wicks for her BBC Woman’s Hour series ‘Second Chances‘. We connected Angela and Milly as part of our workshops with the Family Rights Group.

Amanda Hailes and Lady Unchained were interviewed in the Metro for a piece titled ‘Women in prison: Why building more cells isn’t the answer’.

One of the Family Rights Group Panel members featured in the Guardian, an audio recording of it was then featured in a BBC Woman‘s Hour segment with Chief Exec Cathy Ashley speaking live.

Anne-Marie Douglas gave a talk titled ‘The Empathy Equation’ for BBC Radio Four’s Four Thought.

Lady Unchained presented her first BBC Radio Four documentary Unchained featuring Amanda Hailes.

Simeon Moore and Lady Unchained were featured in BBC Radio 4’s Lights Out programme on Prison Sentences.

Onjali Rauf talk ‘Why children are our most powerful hope for change’ was delivered at Tedx London Women

Rachael Gibbons gave her talk ‘Working Class Women’ for BBC Radio 4’s Four Thought.

Our Being the Story talks have been watched over 91,000 times on YouTube with viewers worldwide

Amanda Hailes’ story was featured on BBC Stories and on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour

Travon was live on Channel 4 News to share his experience of the care system. 

Bryony Albery and Simeon Moore have both appeared on Channel 4 News

Simeon Moore, Anne-Marie Douglas, Travon Steadman, and Bryony Albery spoke at Byline Festival 2019

Ric Flo and Dom Raban were featured in the Guardian, read Ric’s article here and Dom’s here.

Steve Arnott has been featured in the Guardian and the Mirror on how hip-hop is helping young people in Hull find their voice.

Lady Unchained has gone on to deliver a TedTalk

Caroline Kennedy’s talk is being used in training by NHS Health Scotland