CEO's Festive Update: Team Spotlight and This Years' Successes

2025 has been an exceptionally busy year for Sussex Pathways - one of the busiest since we began in 2008 - and that is entirely down to the fantastic team we have on board. As it’s Christmas, I want to take this opportunity to shine a spotlight on each of them and the incredible work they do.

Paula, Chief Operating Officer

My right-hand woman, without whom I would genuinely be lost. Paula has been with us for nearly a year and is worth her weight in gold. Paula what an incredible difference you have made in the last year.

Karren, Business Manager

Karren wears so many hats - HMRC, administration, finance, HR, IT support - and is, in truth, the general go-to for everyone in the organisation. She never turns any requests down and, like Paula, always has a smile on her face. 

Lisa, Admin and Finance Support

Lisa somehow squeezes a week’s worth of work into two days. I hear Karren say so often that without Lisa she wouldn’t be able to do half of what she does. Her efficiency and reliability make a huge difference.

Vicky, Project Manager (Men’s and Women’s Work)

Vicky looks after the staff and volunteers and has turned this work around in the years she has been with us. She has built excellent relationships across the board and consistently delivers full-time outputs on part-time hours - often working on her days off to support volunteers and staff.

Carly,  Office Coordinator & Specialist Delivery Officer

Everyone loves Carly. She keeps the office running smoothly, supports the team on tough days in the prison, and forms a brilliant partnership with Vicky between prison and community.

Neal, Specialist Delivery Officer

What can I say about Neal? His brain runs at 100 miles an hour, he works at so many different jobs that he forgets to have downtime and is brilliant with the clients and now RJ referrals. Neal is an all-round good egg!

Mark, Personal Wellbeing (PWB) Delivery Officer

Mark is a one-man band delivering PWB across Sussex in the community. His results with clients have been outstanding. As a lone worker, he just quietly gets on with the job, and we do not say often enough how exceptional his work is. Mark, you are outstanding in what you do.

Daisy and Julia - Our Newbies

Daisy and Julia recently joined our team working with both men and women, having previously volunteered with us, and what a start they have made. Ladies, you are doing a tough and difficult job, thank you.

Our Volunteers

Our amazing volunteers do so much and some are now going to be supporting participants in the groups. Thank you for giving your hours for free and making such a difference to our staff and clients (including Daisy who sends you a newsletter every month).

Our Impact

It is with gratitude and thanks to all those I have mentioned that we have hit the figures below and our recall and reconviction rates are astounding.

From April 2024 to the end of October this year we have had:

• 231 Through The Gate referrals, of which, 178 resulted in positive, planned disengagement.

• 225 Pathways to Change referrals with 104 completions of the course prior to transfer.

• 75 Kintsugi referrals with just 22 of the participants being recalled to prison and only 2 convictions.

Looking ahead to 2026...

We expect 2026 to be even busier as we progress with our new Residential Habilitation Project (still looking for a new name!), adapt to changes in the CJS, and prepare for shifts in support services coming in 2027. We look forward to meeting these challenges head-on and continuing to support our clients.

A huge thank you to all our funders—many of whom I enjoy catching up with over cake and coffee, one of the perks of being CEO. Your belief in our work means the world. And thank you to our prison partners; we love working with you in creating services that transform lives.

To everyone - we cannot thank you enough for your commitment, time, hard work and support, and we look forward to going into 2026 with you.