Our Chair receives his MBE for his work within the charity sector

Originally it was to be at Buckingham Palace with his wife and two children being allowed to attend, however the national lockdown cancelled this occasion. However last week his investiture finally happened on Wednesday 3rd November 2021 at Windsor Castle. Unfortunately, due to the restrictions currently in place his children were unable to attend.

There was a real buzz within the family about this once in life-time event. From the minute details such as what are we going to wear to who might be presenting this honour to Richard.

So, on the day and as my duty as nanny, I looked after the boys with their other nanny, Liz. We had lunch with the boys and got them dressed in their matching waistcoats and bow ties ready to meet their daddy after his ceremony.

To see my son with his MBE led me to thinking about our lives.

From being a one parent family to the struggles that this entailed and to my earlier business ventures where Richard would be a willing assistant. My two sons and I have always been a team. Stuart’s serious car crash, and Richard’s and my dyslexic diagnoses brought us even closer. This bond led to us deciding to help those like us which is why we started “The Cascade Foundation”.

Richard has been a key contributor to this by volunteering over the last eight years. He has turned his skills to board roles such as PR, finances and gaining contracts and other trustee responsibilities but has also contributed towards grass roots activities like spending time visiting prisons, talking to our staff, learners, and prison management.

I remember the meeting wtih Nick Hardwick, Secretary for State, where he asked Richard “were you frightened for your mum when she was with all these ex-offenders?’ and Richard replied ‘At the beginning, of course I was scared but when I saw how all these prisoners respected and cared for her……nobody had ever cared and took the time to get to them like she does.  She also had 3 ex-offenders, sharing the Cascade staff house with her, 2 who were colleagues and 1 who had come straight from prison.”

Waiting for Richard and his wife Samantha we were full of excitement.  His award had been presented to him by Princess Anne who was very interested in our charity and why it was set up.  It was just amazing, and we are all so proud of him and the support and kindness he shows to everyone.

All our staff, learners and families who have received his help have described him as one of life’s good people, and the award is seen as well-deserved by all who know him and how hard he works. Congratulations Richard!

The Cascade Foundation commended in the Howard League Penal Reform Restorative Approaches Awards 2021

The Benfleet-based charity The Cascade Foundation, has been awarded a commendation from The Howard League Penal Reform for their project ‘Dyslexia Behind Bars II’ within Doncaster Prison and Community.

Founded in 2013 by Jackie Hewitt-Main, The Cascade Foundation has a proven track record working with prisoners and has so far helped thousands of offenders in the south and north of England to make rapid progress via its innovative, multi-sensory approach to learning.  This has, in turn, reduced frustration, aggression and dramatically reduced re-offending rates as well as increasing employment prospects.

The charity also trains volunteers to be mentors and learning coaches to help transform lives for a safer society.

Jackie’s journey to help others started after her son sustained severe head injuries in a car crash and she had to support him to learn to read and write all over again.

She soon realised that the typical ways to address the relearning process within the NHS simply didn’t work for her son, so she gave up her job, visited academics and researched different ways of learning.  All of this work led to her developing a new, unique approach to help her son.

When her son was well enough, Jackie took him to college every day so he could complete the exams he’d missed at school.  At the same time, she visited South East Essex College in Southend and met a lady called Sue Blackburn.  Sue immediately recognised Jackie’s learning difficulties and arranged an assessment.  Jackie ended up with a statement of special educational needs (SEN) which diagnosed severe dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, ADHA and slight Asperger’s Syndrome.

As a result of her diagnosis, Jackie felt compelled to help others in the same situation, so she studied for a degree in SEN and a PGCE qualification.  Her dissertation subject was the highly neglected area of ‘Dyslexia in UK prisons’ which ultimately led to the delivery of a variety of learning projects for male prisoners in HMP Chelmsford and  HMP Doncaster. 

Explains Jackie: “53% of UK prisoners and unemployed people living in local communities across Doncaster have dyslexia or similar learning difficulties.  The educational needs of these people, not to mention individuals with head injuries, are largely ignored simply because they are unable to respond to traditional teaching and learning methods – that’s where The Cascade Foundation comes in.

Our projects, both in prisons and in the local community, are aimed at offenders, ex-offenders and community learners and are specifically designed to redress the educational balance by improving literacy and numeracy in a way that these people can understand.”

In the summer of 2017, after two years of searching for the perfect location, she opened The Cascade Foundation Health & Learning Hub on Marshgate right next to HMP Doncaster in the town centre.

The Hub had fast become a place for a wide variety of people of all ages and backgrounds from the local community including ex-prisoners, the long-term unemployed and people struggling to keep a job to meet up and find out more.  They all have one thing in common: they are dyslexic, and they feel angry, upset, frustrated, and misunderstood because of their disability.

Commenting on her award, Jackie said: “I’m so proud of the work that happened over the last seven years in Doncaster from teaching and training within the Marshgate prison, the through the gate program, our transition houses for ex-offenders and the first prototype Cascade Health and Learning Hub.  Over 6,000 individuals took part in our projects, changing many who felt that they were unable to achieve qualifications or job prospects.

Rebecca Harris MP for Castle Point has congratulated The Cascade Foundation for being award a Commendation from the Howard League for Penal Reform for their 7 year project ‘Dyslexia Behind Bars’ within Doncaster prison and community.  “Well done to Jackie Hewitt-Main OBE and The Cascade Foundation. The foundation has been on an amazing journey since it was inaugurated in 2013 and launched at the House of Commons.”

Concludes Jackie: “It’s time to put The Cascade Foundation back in Essex, we arrived home just before the lockdown, so we have had the time to research and are now looking forward to our next project.  If anyone would like to hear more about what we do, or has been affected by dyslexia, head injury or learning difficulties and would like to become part of our team, we’d love to hear from you!”