Butler Trust promotes Thank you #HiddenHeroes Day for prisons, probation and youth justice workers across the UK
Following the success of last year’s first UK-wide “Thank you #HiddenHeroes Day”, this year’s special day takes place today (Wednesday).
The first annual #HiddenHeroesDay, in 2020, saw prisons, probation and youth justice services across the UK pay tribute to their workforce for their critical public service, especially in the face of Covid-19.
While Covid is still far from over, this year there is light at the end of the tunnel, and #HiddenHeroesDay 2 is a chance to thank everyone across the custodial and community justice estate for their truly outstanding service throughout the pandemic.
It’s also an opportunity to show them that, while they may be largely hidden from public view, they’re not forgotten, and that the people who know them best truly appreciate all they’ve done, and continue to do, at this time.
You can follow events “live” on the Hidden Heroes website or on Twitter @HiddenHeroes_uk.
The Butler Trust was set up in 1985 by former prison governor, Rev Peter Timms OBE and Veronica Linklater, later Baroness Linklater of Butterstone.
It is named after Richard Austen Butler (RAB), later Lord Butler of Saffron Walden, and the Butler family have been closely involved with the Trust throughout.
As Home Secretary (from 1957 to 1962), RAB introduced a series of reforms to improve the management, care and rehabilitation of offenders. To further the scientific understanding of criminality, he set up the Home Office Research Unit, and helped set up the Cambridge Institute of Criminology. He also gave the go-ahead for Grendon, as the world’s first dedicated psychotherapeutic prison.
And the 1975 Butler Report (which RAB oversaw after leaving office) led to significant improvements in the management and care of offenders with a mental illness.
If you have any messages of support or pictures of the day Tweet using the hashtag #HiddenHeroesDay or email them to info@butlertrust.org.uk and they will be sure to share them.
