HISTORY
The seeds for Stepping Stones Trust were planted in 1982, and the Trust was formed in 1984, and celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2004. After much financial and prayer support the first Stepping Stones Trust hostel, Park View, was opened in 1986. This hostel operated successfully for 20 years, and was closed due to a withdrawal of support from Supporting People. The second hostel, Bridge House, was opened in 1993 as a home able to receive those convicted of sexual offences, and in 2001 a third hostel, Hope House was opened. Since its inception the vision of Stepping Stones Trust has continually expanded and, in light of this, in 2005 we started a resettlement project, Beyond the Wall, based on a wing in HMP Wormwood Scrubs which finally closed in April 2010 when the Prison Service felt it was no longer able to provide any funding for the service. In 2007 we started to operate move-on accommodation to provide those leaving our hostels with further accommodation and greater independence This 3rd Phase has expanded to take people straight from prison who do not require the support offered in Hope House. We now operate two hostels and a variety of phase 3 move-on accommodation within which we are planning to cater for female ex-offenders.