Impact UK: Unlocking hope

At age 12, Lady Edwina Grosvenor was introduced to two heroin users in Liverpool. In that moment, on Hope Street, she discovered her ‘why’.

Ever since, she has dedicated considerable energy, wit and resources to prison reform and rehabilitation. First in 2009, as the founding investor of The Clink restaurant chain, a series of fine dining restaurants set up in four prisons in England and Wales, staffed by prisoners.

She launched her own charity One Small Thing in 2014, with the mission to redesign the justice system for women and their children. In 2023, the flagship project of One Small Thing, Hope Street Hampshire was opened, a pioneering residential alternative to custody in the community, for women involved in the justice system and their children.

Having spent over 20 years working in the justice system, the daughter of the 6th Duke of Westminster admits prisons may have saved her, too. “No matter who you are, you need a reason to get out of bed. If you’re inheriting great wealth, you really, really need a meaningful reason to get out of bed’.

The Spark

It started on Hope Street in Liverpool. Growing up in a very wealthy family, my parents were understandably worried about me and my sister taking drugs. They decided to take us to a drug rehabilitation clinic. There we met two heroin users and the hour I spent with them completely changed the course of my life. I’ve always been fascinated by the places I’m not meant to go, the people I’m not meant to see, the conversations I’m not meant to have. Hearing about what had led these people to a life of drug use and chaos opened my eyes and made me realise I wanted to be on the frontline, helping others.

No matter who you are, you need a reason to get out of bed. If you’re inheriting great wealth, you really need a meaningful reason to get out of bed.

The Choice

I was a founding investor for The Clink restaurant. Four opened and it was exciting, exhilarating and high risk. Brixton became number one on TripAdvisor for the best restaurant in London. The whole purpose was to be able to give prisoners skills so that they could leave prison and get a decent job and wage, which in turn drives down reoffending rates. I soon realised I wanted to do philanthropy differently. I didn’t set up a foundation because I didn’t want to be constrained in my giving. I decided to allocate a certain amount of my own money and ring-fence it on an annual basis. It means I can give quickly, I can save a charity tomorrow, and I can back new and exciting causes and ventures. It keeps it exciting and agile and I can take risks.

I visited California to see the work Dr Stephanie Covington was doing in women’s prisons. She was educating prisoners and prison officers about trauma and how it manifests itself, so they were better able to understand their own behaviour.

As a result, incidents of violence and self-harm were reduced. I was like, “Oh my God, this is so simple.” So, I suggested to the Director General of the Prison Service that if he could give the programme the green light, I would pay for and set the work up across the twelve women’s prisons in England. We did it. Driving under the cover of night between prisons we managed to train the whole of the female prison service in about two weeks. It was like a Rock’n’Roll on the road thing, only not as glamorous!

My father had a catastrophic heart attack and died suddenly when he was only 64. His big philanthropic legacy was the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre for wounded veterans, but he never saw it open. Someone asked me, ‘what’s going to be your legacy, Edwina’? The answer is Hope Street.

Hope Street offers an alternative to prison for women on remand, serving community sentences, or on probation, helping prevent family separation and keeping children out of care. Many women end up in prison for their own protection because their homes have become domestic war zones. In other words, they’re being incarcerated for their safety rather than their crimes, which is utterly, flipping ridiculous. For more than 20 years, there’s been agreement that this can be done differently, by creating safe accommodation that isn’t their home, the streets, or a prison cell.

The Impact

Thanks to Hope Street, we’ve stopped numerous children from going into care who didn’t need to. We’re seeing thousands of women a year coming in for day groups, support, education and to work in the coffee shop. Women leave Hope Street having felt safe, they have confidence to manage their own money and are in control their own finances. They leave knowing that they matter, that they deserve a better life. With renewed self-worth, confidence and skills, they can move forward.

Thanks to Hope Street, we’ve stopped children from going into care who didn’t need to, keeping them with their mothers at such an important time in their lives.

The Future

We believe we can reduce the number of women in prison significantly if we increase the number of Hope Streets. We are now looking to expand to support more women and children across England and Wales, taking pressure off prisons and keeping mothers and their children together whilst reducing harmful behaviour and crime.

Emotional ROI

After 20 years of meetings in the Ministry of Justice and in Parliament, making speeches that haven’t led to any change, now I walk into Hope Street and I see change, something new. There are flowers, colour and happiness. It’s a machine that’s working. I wanted to build something that would lead to actual change and we have done that, it is unbelievably restorative for me. I always go in and think, thank goodness we did this.

Giving Forward

Think about what makes you angry? That means you care enough to expend time and emotion on it. Be curious. Go to talks, meet people, think hard. Do the brainwork. Don’t leap in. Choose your giving mechanism on purpose. A foundation can mean overheads and bureaucracy. Consider a personal allocation to move fast. Start small. Giving is about your head and heart: sometimes you give because it absolutely makes sense and sometimes you just meet someone you absolutely adore.