Your Time, Your voice, Your Support Help Us Rebuild Lives

 "I went to the prison with a member of staff to visit 'R’ – a 30 year old man completing his first custodial sentence. He had asked to work with the Community Chaplaincy. The first thing he said to us was ‘I'm never coming back in here’. 

We went through his concerns – he drank heavily and had used drugs, although he was working toward a substitute programme.. He also suffered from quite severe anxiety issues. It was agreed that I would visit him on my own the next week, before his release date. My first time going into a prison by myself.

At that visit, we made a list of his needs, prioritising the most urgent ones. He was able to go to his parents’ house upon release, although this was for a limited time only. He was in a Housing Association flat before his imprisonment, and still owed money for rent.

On release day, the staff member and I collected him, and we went to probation and got his appointments set up, and to Jobcentre Plus. He insisted he would not be signing on as disabled, and got an appointment for Jobclub. He was still determined he would not be seeing old associates, and wanted to change for the sake of his family. I admired this attitude, as it is one of the hardest things to do.

We met in a cafe two days later, where we filled in forms for Housing, and made a list of his outstanding debts. (There always seems to be more of these, the more the mentee gets to know you!) I had some information for him from a training provider, which he took home with him.

I also found that making lists of the day’s tasks, in order of importance, would calm him down and make him concentrate on one thing at a time, as opposed to it all rattling around in his head. By the end of our time together, list-writing had become part of his way of dealing with things. At one of our meetings, he arrived very agitated, saying that the Jobcentre had written, telling him they could not pay him.

My heart sank, thinking of what could happen now. We phoned them and they told us there was a problem with his address, and that was the reason the Post Office would not accept the payment! A couple of phone calls later, and it was sorted. ‘R’ told me that he was on the verge of giving in when he received that letter, and thanked me for sorting it with him. This was a good day!

He contacted me a few days later, asking to meet. I went, and was thrilled to hear that Jobclub had got him a full-time job at a local large dairy. He said he had to tell me in person – he was so proud. He said working with me had kept him on the right track- and then it was MY turn to feel proud! The job was only temporary, and only lasted a couple of weeks. When it finished, we had many long phone calls when he got disheartened, but I kept encouraging him that with his attitude, something will happen for the good. And it did! He got an interview with the dairy company, and they have taken him on as a permanent member of staff. He is earning more, and is saving for a deposit on a flat. His parents are very proud of him, and he is able to see his young daughter regularly. His heavy drinking and drug-taking have ceased."

He said working with me had kept him on the right track- and then it was MY turn to feel proud!

Ian, our Community Chaplain first came to know Jason in 2009 when he attempted to commit suicide in one of the Devon prisons. His life was only just saved through the prompt intervention of prison staff who cut him down

Referred by the chaplaincy team as one needing extra TLC, Ian spent some time getting to know him, gaining his confidence and instilling a degree of hope in him. Jason was eventually transferred back to mainstream prison life and Ian arranged for him to do some midweek courses with the chaplaincy team.

Jason is a born worrier and gets confused over dates and details. As well as providing one-to-one support, Ian started to work towards helping Jason put practical things in place ready for his release. This included liaison with the Offender Supervisor and his Offender Manager. As Jason was due to return to Wales, Ian made a link with Prison Fellowship (PF) working with ex-offenders in that area, and arranged for them to visit him whilst in prison. 

Finding somewhere for Jason to live was the main practical issue to deal with and Ian asked PF to check out the situation with the Local Authority. Finding that there was the possibility of council housing available, Ian checked matters out with the Prison Offender Manager and, there being no objections, liaised with the accommodation referral team in the prison to get the ball rolling. The day of release arrived and Ian met Jason at the gate, accompanying him to the station and showing him how to change the travel warrant he had been given into a train ticket. Ian made sure he was on the right train and that PF volunteers were waiting to meet him on his arrival in Swansea.

The latest news is that Jason will shortly get his own flat with the Local Authority. PF continue to provide him with support and Ian also keeps in touch to encourage him and check out that things are going OK. He is also working closely with PF as they support Jason in his search for work.