Sova Circles Merseyside

Sova Circles Merseyside is a new and exciting project funded by the National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund .

Sova Circles Merseyside helps the police and probation to make the community safer by holding to account offenders convicted of sexual offences. Circles of three or four Volunteers work with an offender in a “circle of support and accountability” meeting them on a regular basis to monitor their behaviour and support their reintegration into the community.

Sova Circles Merseyside volunteers are from all walks of life. They are emotionally stable and approachable people who have a mature outlook. They combine an empathetic approach with the ability to maintain firm boundaries, and a satisfactory DBS check . Sova equip volunteers for this challenging and very rewarding role via our accredited training package on-going professional support with expenses reimbursed. The most effective circles are those that meet frequently over an extended period of time. We therefore ask our volunteers to commit to a couple of hours a week for 12-18 months.