Make Your Way has successfully worked with people in prison and ex-offenders in the community through a range of projects with furniture, gardening and DIY. Individuals are supported to re-integrate into society and stop offending behaviour.
Make Your Way CIC is a social enterprise founded by Loree Moran-Wilson, an ex-offender (due to addiction) who has reformed, gained a BSc honours degree in Criminology from Northumbria as well as many other qualifications. Make your Way primarily supports ex-offenders in the community, teaching small groups to restore furniture whilst supporting each individual to re-integrate into society and gain meaningful experience.
Make Your Way also holds the Local Welfare Provision contract for Sunderland City Council and delivers new and restored furniture directly to families in need. Recipients of the furniture are usually vulnerable and low-income residents who have little or no furniture and who therefore don’t have the disposable income to purchase necessities such as beds and sofas.
To gain additional organisational income, Make Your Way sells affordable, preloved furniture through its two new outlets in Sunderland and Newcastle, something it aims to expand. It also seeks to train more people through the upcycling of furniture and production of bespoke items, once Make Your Way has additional resource and capacity in place. With funding from the Badur Foundation, Make Your Way gained business support from Social Enterprise Acumen to develop a strategic and financial plan, enabling it to improve its viability and further develop its services.
