Donate Refer
A man preparing some food in a kitchen

Who We Support

A woman doing woodwork in the Handcrafted workshop

Open to everyone

Handcrafted is a community open to everyone. We work with some of the most marginalised people in society, regardless of their backgrounds.

Our trainees face multiple disadvantages such as homelessness, addictions, poor mental and physical health, long-term unemployment, offending history, fleeing domestic violence, and leaving local authority care. Many of them experience multiple of these needs which interact in complex ways.

A woman making a garment on a sewing machine

Priority Groups

Based on our experience of working in the North-East for the past 12 years, we have 4 key priority groups for whom we have developed specialist provision:

Image depicting someone helping another person up a mountain

Testimonials

I have referred a number of offenders to Handcrafted.  The offenders can attend the project several times per week if they wish to, if not daily. This means that they have some where to go and something constructive to do with their time. They can learn new skills or continue to develop skills they already have. They are given the opportunity to try projects they would probably never have considered themselves able to do.

They all take great pride in the items they produce and some have expressed interest in forming their own small businesses on the back of the skills they have learned.

Most of my offenders have then begun to work on their own projects outside of Handcrafted, for example, one produced a bench for a new nature reserve. The offender stated that he feels he has left a legacy for other people to benefit from. Again, this gives them something constructive to do with their time, gives them a sense of pride and self worth. All of this is extremely positive for the offender and helps to deter from further offending.

Lesley G, Durham Constabulary