Billy’s story

Billy joined the StandOut course at HMP Wandsworth back in 2021, and coaches very quickly saw how determined he was to build a life for himself. As a care-experienced young person, Billy was particularly worried about money and the kind of support that would be available to him on release, and so he was really focused on getting into work.

One of our coaches, Ben, first spoke to Billy while recruiting for Career Hub – a monthly session that brings together StandOut participants and inclusive employers for a day of networking, coaching and support with CVs and job applications. When Ben called Billy, he was in the middle of browsing a jobs’ board and leapt at the chance to meet in person some employers who were open to hiring people with criminal records. Our coaches hadn’t been in regular contact with Billy since the spring (this was autumn) and were really happy to be back in touch with him again.

Billy joined us at PA Consulting’s offices for Career Hub, and left having signed up for XO Bikes’ course refurbishing donated bikes. Unfortunately, with lots going on in his personal life and a need for paid work, Billy couldn’t commit to finishing the course. Fortunately, he kept in touch with StandOut.

After a short stint labouring on a building site during the winter, Billy once again attended Career Hub, and this time applied to work with Only A Pavement Away – a charity that connects the hospitality industry with people facing barriers to work. He’s really keen to work as a waiter, so we’re hopeful that this is a good match. A couple of weeks ago, Billy joined our Coaching Manager – Amrit – at our offices in Vauxhall to work through how to disclose his conviction to his potential new employer.

On top of his job search, Billy is making a real effort to fill his time by doing things like going to the gym. He has dealt with mental health and substance misuse issues in the past and is conscious that he needs to keep himself occupied to manage those. Billy really embraces coaching conversations with our coaches about this part of his life.

Ben commented that Billy’s strengths include a high level of self-reflection and self-awareness, and a willingness to push himself out of his comfort zone. This means that our coaches can strike the right balance with Billy; not doing everything for him but standing alongside him as he moves forward in life.

Billy is now in regular contact with our coaches, including Ben. Sometimes he’ll get in touch with us (i.e., for support with food or job applications) and other times we’ll get in touch with him (i.e., to share job opportunities). It’s great when participants feel able to reach out to us to ask for support; we consider it to be a real strength.

Billy is a really good example of the ebb and flow of the relationship between StandOut participant and coach. Our support is always there. But, as the people we work with move onwards with their lives there are times when they need more or less support, and times when asking for it feels more or less difficult. This – the ups and downs of life after prison, and indeed life generally – is exactly why we offer the open-ended support that we do. We’ll be here for Billy for as long as he needs and, as we do with all our participants, we are rooting for him to succeed.