Westway Open Arms, a Christian social action centre which proudly stands in the heart of the community of Eastfield in Scarborough, has benefited from the support of offenders working on Community Payback.

Community Payback in Scarborugh is managed by the Humberside Lincolnshire & North Yorkshire Community Rehabilitation Company (HLNY CRC) and aims to rehabilitate offenders through working on projects, nominated by members of the public, that benefit the community.

After opening in 2013, with the blessing of the Archbishop of York, Westway Open Arms has served thousands from Eastfield who have walked through its doors, offering help through its client support and debt relief teams, a food bank and weekly free lunch, and day-to-day drop-in activities such as arts and crafts.

As a Christian centre, Westway Open Arms also runs courses such as Alpha and START and each Thursday holds a service of Communion.
The charity says it is indebted to the dedication of its wonderful team of volunteers including HLNY CRC, without whom it could not run, and to the many individuals throughout Scarborough who so generously support it.

Centre coordinator Mike Tyas said: “We also receive help from wonderful organisations in our town such as the community payback team. They have helped Westway Open Arms on a number of occasions with vital work that was needed around our centre.

“We found the lads that helped us to be very respectful, hardworking and genuinely interested in the work of our centre. It was a pleasure to be in their company and they were a credit to themselves in the way they helped us.”

*The Community Payback Team in Humberside Lincolnshire & North Yorkshire would like to hear about other projects which residents think will make a real difference to their community. Nominate a project for Community Payback.