Success stories

The G ood Prison Officer is a new book, published by Routledge, written by professionals who have lived experience of prison. It aims to improve Prison Officer practice through authoritative insights, practical examples anad advice. We are so proud that Dan is one of the chapter authors and encourage everyone to read a copy.

We love to read about Stories of Success from people who have left prison and this Little Book of Success from our friend David Morgan at Entrepreneurs Unlocked is a great collection of stories, featuring our very own director, Dan.

Have a read of his story here which describes how education has made such a difference to his life.

As well as the benefits to the individual students and to wider society, there are noticeable improvements to the prison regime when groups of students engage with education at this level. Prisoners who study a higher education course often take on a wide range of additional support roles within the prison relating to education, violence reduction, equalities, tackling drug misuse, counselling and listening.

They often become the trusted prisoners who contribute to a settled environment and use their study experiences to guide others of a lower academic ability into educational pathways. They act as role models and take on formal mentoring within educational departments and vocational skills workshops.

The opportunity to study for a degree also contributes to a sense of wellbeing that cannot otherwise be easily met within the confines of a prison regime. It brings a sense of purpose and hope as well as offering a realistic pathway towards living a different life on release. Studying for a degree is a long-term commitment that not only helps the person while they are in prison, but also encourages positive behaviour that can over-ride many years of an ingrained criminal lifestyle.

For students themselves, the outcomes are broad and incorporate a change to their whole mindset.

We are seeing some inspiring individual success stories from the people we work with and will share new stories regularly here :

Background	J is a 22-year-old black man on a 6 year sentence
Previous education	J had a very troubled background and has been in custody from a young age. In the final year of his sentence, he started to engage with a drama project run in the prison and as he was approaching his release date, the drama teacher contacted DWRM to ask for post release support to help J find training and employment.
DWRM intervention	DWRM contacted J 2 weeks before his release to establish some key facts about where he would be living and what his goals and aspirations were. He was very keen to find work, but also very anxious about his lack of digital skills and relevant experience. We provided him with a free laptop the day after he was released, as well as daily mentoring support to help him with the immediate challenges he faced. He was living in a hostel and unfamiliar with transport options in London, so needed a lot of support. We also provided some basic digital skills training, including use of email and Zoom. DWRM arranged 2 job interviews for J within his first week of release. He was successful in being offered the second role within a large training organisation. We liaised with the company to explain J’s circumstances because he was concerned about the possible stigma he might experience. DWRM also made a referral to Suited and Booted so that J received new work clothing, including shirts, trousers, jackets and shoes.
Outcomes	J has now been in work for 3 months and is receiving excellent feedback. Thanks to our quick intervention, he did not need to claim Universal Credit and is already earning a salary. He is receiving in-work training as well as ongoing mentoring support from DWRM.
Feedback	From J “My new job is going really well. I’m getting the hang of it. I talked to a few clients today. It’s good work I’m passionate about it.” From the employer “J has made a great start in his new role and is already an asset to our company. We look forward to working with you for more recruitment options.”