Our vision and values.

Our vision is to see an inclusive community where everyone has hope and opportunity.

All of our work is aimed at achieving two goals:

1

To help turn around the futures of people who are serving sentences in prison or in the community.

2

To turn around the wider community, encouraging others to support people on their journey.

Our Values

01. WE CREATE OPPORTUNITY

Each of us has opportunities to learn, grow and play a part in our community.  We work to enable, encourage and support each other by creating opportunities to build new futures.

02. WE NURTURE HOPE

Each of us is more than our pasts.  We use our past experiences to guide us and strengthen us, but we don’t allow them to define us or limit our futures.

03. WE RESPECT EACH OTHER

Each of us should be treated with respect and dignity.  Whatever our backgrounds, we value each other, respect differences, and work together to achieve our goals.

04. WE ARE
COMMITTED TO INCLUSION

Each of us has strengths and has a positive contribution to make within our community. We all learn from each other and use our experiences to improve our own and other people’s futures.

Our strategic plan.

Our Strategic Plan sets out the Outcomes and Objectives we will work to achieve over the next few years.  But while we are clear about where we are going, we will be flexible about how we get there.  We are open to exploring new ideas and approaches, and in particular to learning from people with lived experience of spending time in, and transitioning out of, the justice system.

We want Turnaround to be an organisation that works with people rather than for them.  Rather than delivering pre-prepared solutions, we want to involve people in the creation and development of new approaches. 

So, while our Strategic Plan sets out the broad framework within which we will work, it is also an invitation to work with us to redefine the boundaries between the justice system and the wider community.

Whatever you think you might be able to bring to the Turnaround Project – your ideas, experience, skills or enthusiasm – we invite you to join us as we work together to help turn futures around.  

Our team.

ANDREW HAMILTON CBE

RACHEL O'BRIEN

MICHAEL IRWIN

Has an extensive background in Northern Ireland’s public sector, latterly as Deputy Secretary in the Department for Communities.

A consultant specialising in prisons. Rachel is Director of the RSA’s Transitions Project and has 30 years of experience working with charities, think tanks and government, with particular expertise around prison policy.

Uses his experiences and expertise from both lived experience of the justice system and academic research to create awareness of criminal justice processes.

CATHERINE BELL CBE

Brings her expertise from her professional career in government – most recently as a Deputy Secretary in the Department for Employment and Learning.

COLIN MAYRS

MOIRA DOHERTY

SARA DONNELLY-CLEGG

A Solicitor who works for the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service

PROFESSOR
MARGARET TOPPING

Chief Executive of a leisure and tourism company, who has bought, built and sold successful commercial businesses

Deputy Secretary in the Department for Communities, with responsibility for the Department’s ‘Engaged Communities Group’

Dean of Queen's University Belfast's Graduate School and Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Graduate Studies.

NEIL MCCARTAN

From McCartan Muldoon Architects - an experienced architect in this prize-winning practice, who has led the development of a wide range of projects in the public, private and third sectors

NIALL CASEY

Director of Skills and Strategy Solutions at Invest NI, with a background in the private sector.

Our partners and supporters.

The Turnaround Project has been developed through partnership and engagement with a wide range of organisations and generous financial or pro-bono support from others: