ABOUT
At Dream Believe and Achieve (DBA), our philosophy is simple: “If you can Dream it, you can Believe it. If you can believe it, you can achieve it”. We are a cooperative, united by our shared passion to invest in young minds and instil a profound sense of self-worth in every child, young adult, and adult we work with. Our core values of Dream, Believe, and Achieve empower individuals to realize their full potential and translate their aspirations into successful achievements through a holistic, wraparound support system. The foundation of our enterprise is built upon providing unwavering support and mentoring through our specialized talks and courses, ensuring everyone is given the opportunity to be a valued part of society. Most importantly, our staff and facilitators all possess lived experiences; they have navigated these exact societal challenges, learned from them, and discovered the inner strength to positively change their lives.
PEOPLE VIEWS
Serco Custodial Manager
“Rob, Dan and the other colleagues that came in to deliver was very passionate about what they do and you could see this.”
Stepping Stones 4 Success Participant
“The course was ‘the best’ I have had during any of my time in prison. Not just the staff but how it was delivered and how it impacted me. It was something that will and has made an impact on me and my future.”
Nicola Caffell
Health & Justice Partnership Manager, Probation Service – East of England
“Dream Believe Achieve was commissioned by the Probation Service Health & Justice team in the East of England to deliver the ‘Stepping Stones 4 Success’ programme which is a course to focus on life skills & the desired skills required to succeed in life. The course covers Budgeting, Building Positive Relationships, Identifying Negative Relationships, Perception, Building a CV and Interviews and how to prepare for the job application process.
The first course was agreed to run in the CFO Hub in Peterborough with 6 participants registered. On day 1 of this course unfortunately none of the participants attended. Rob took this in his stride & we managed to speak to some of the people in the CFO Hub who joined the morning session. In the meantime, I spoke to the individual probation officers & for the afternoon session 2 more people attended. For the 2nd/3rd day we ended up with a small cohort, but this did not detract or change the delivery of the programme. By the end of the course, 1 of the participants (GA) completed the mock interview & took all the feedback on board. The work Rob did with GA was fantastic, including working with his CFO worker to encourage additional support in the Hub even with his negative views to change his opinion of the Hub.
The second course was held at the Northampton Probation office with 15 participants signed up to attend. On the first day, 12 people attended plus a worker from DWP that I’d invited along too. At the beginning of day 1, some of the participants were very negative about ‘why they were there’ but as the day progressed & with Rob’s support, kindness & attitude, the atmosphere in the room calmed. Day 2, one of my team attended to support & the feedback on the delivery of the programme was excellent. 12 participants attended – some of the same as day 1 but some different. On day 3, again 12 participants attended the session & the feedback at the end of the day was great & good to see all the guys shaking Rob’s hand & thanking him for being ‘himself’ and delivering a great course.
The 3rd course was agreed to be delivered in HMP High Point due to the Education/training focus within this prison which is a category C resettlement prison in Suffolk with c.750 prisoners & offered a range of educational training programmes to the prisoners aiming to improve rehabilitation prospects and reduce reoffending. The organisation of the 3 days was a challenge from the prison’s side. Rob adapted to every single change thrown at him & even when we arrived at the prison more changes had happened. The first day was classroom style in the workshop area where 10 participants attended. There was a real mixed cohort including lifers to one of the prisoners being released in the next 3 weeks. The session started all around the challenges & worries the guys are feeling around release & even though they are always the same (Housing, finances/money, relationships), Rob brought everything he discussed back to these key areas to support the guys into different ways of thinking & made suggestions on how they can see their release this time (all of the guys have been repeat prisoners) to encourage the reduction of reoffending. Great conversations happened during the day & the way Rob handles the negative views & challenges the guys is fantastic. Day 2 & 3 I didn’t attend but the Employment lead has completed the evaluation (see attached). The main comment around ‘what would have been better’ was a longer course which is very interesting as the course is usually 3 days but this was requested to be changed by the prison.
Overall: The whole ethos of DBA is great, but Rob is the person who really delivers this to the participants. Rob uses his own background to show change can happen; he is open, honest but also works with integrity & confidentiality. I would recommend the programmes to individuals who need support into work, looking at changing their lives & views to become much more positive individuals.”
Employment Lead, HMP High Point
(As referenced in Nicola Caffell’s evaluation)
“The main comment around ‘what would have been better’ was a longer course which is very interesting as the course is usually 3 days but this was requested to be changed by the prison.”