What we do
Open Gates will support prisoners and ex-prisoners through an employment and training programme with the aim of reducing re-offending and stopping the revolving door back into prison. Individuals who have managed to break the cycle will use their experience to mentor and support other offenders to do the same. Operating as a social enterprise, the organisation will manufacture, recycle, and upcycle furniture and white goods and sell to the general public.
Rebuilding people
We have a long track record in changing the lives of offenders by providing a positive and rewarding experience through training and employment
House clearance on retail
We have a retail operation in Dumbarton road linked to our house clearance and renovation business based in our Warehouse.
Rehabilitation
We take people who have been institutionalised and turn their lives around. We recognise that this is not an easy task and requires dedication and support
vocational training
We provide vocational based training across a range of subjects with a view to transitioning our staff into full time employment
About
Open Gates will support prisoners and ex-prisoners through an employment and training programme with the aim of reducing re-offending and stopping the revolving door back into prison. Individuals who have managed to break the cycle will use their experience to mentor and support other offenders to do the same. Operating as a social enterprise, the organisation will manufacture, recycle, and upcycle furniture and white goods and sell to the general public. The initiative was gifted a former industrial bakery building by Scottish Canals and they have made the most of that generosity. The building itself is huge and the venture expansive. What you need to know is that it’s a team effort in here. I’m not daft, I had a vision for in here but every single person that’s come through here has done just as much work as I’ve done in the time that they were here. The restoration of the furniture that will be sold to the public directly parallels the futures of those doing the restoring.
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RE-OFFENDING RATE
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SUCCESSFUL RENOVATIONS
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FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
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PROJECTS COMPLETED ON TIME
Opengates team
Pat Clark
Latest news
The Vision Continues
https://youtu.be/VoQI1BMOqDcOnce again, a big thank you to all that post on our site, even though my reply’s a rare. Now you can check out our latest You Tube update. We are on the cusp of expanding into the charity we desire to be (info to be forth coming). Serving the Glasgow area, as well as[…]
New Horizon
Hi everyone, let me start by apologising for my lack of response to your encouraging emails. The fact of the matter is that it is not only my Achilles heel but also a pain in the back side when it comes to understanding how computers work. I genuinely struggle and depend on self perseverance to[…]
Time For A full Report
25/04/20 This last year has had its about turns here and there. Last month due to the serious circumstances we find ourselves in, we had to close down our whole operation. Our exterior fencing of the factory has been manufactured and ready to fit when we found out that our blacksmith (IRONCRAFT) company had also[…]
Community Service and Homeless Coming Together with Volunteers
It is with a touch of pride that I can report that Open Gates had a Christmas dinner for the homeless. “All good and well” I hear the voice of goodwill calling in the background with compassion. But the story is a wee bit different when I tell you I was approached by Brogan (she[…]
With a little help from our friends
In June 67 the Beatles released the song “With A Little Help From My Friends.” Last week I was overseeing our CPO men finish off the wall and fence we had been working on for the past few months and found myself humming the above tune. This project has been fully backed by The Triangle[…]
It never rains but it pours!
Dear Board/Partners Thought I would just keep you up to speed regarding a couple of events that has happened this past week at the factory. The Flood Our new roof sprung a leak (7th June) big style, but the problem that caused the flooding was not the roofer’s workmanship; it was the 4 blocked guttering[…]
OpenGates Video
Open Gates Glasgow Restoration of Furniture, Buildings and most importantly Restoration of People. Charity set up to help prevent prisoners re-offending, supported by the Deutsche Bank
New cafe opening
New cafe at Open Gates Work is picking up pace on the new café at Open Gates since planning was approved in summer 2015. The plans to turn the Glasgow warehouse owned by Open Gates into a thriving community hub are now coming to fruition. A team of volunteers and inmates on their one year[…]
Positively.Scot
It’s hard to avoid the obvious metaphor in the project led by Pat Clark, who helps a team of people to restore unwanted furniture. The notable thing is that they comprise serious criminal offenders, some of whom are serving time for murder. Now 66, Pat can identify with them, having spent the first half of his life in and out of prison.[…]