Mind the gap. What people leaving prison told us they need to thrive.
Men at HMP Wandsworth and HMP Wormwood Scrubs joined us in a listening exercise, to share their concerns about release. They told us what they’d like to see bridging the gap in provision that exists between leaving prison and thriving in the community - and how we could support them to navigate this transition.
Not everyone in prison looks forward to being released.
To someone who has never been to prison, this might seem difficult to believe. A chance to see friends and family again; to do what you want, when you want; and no more being confined to a small cell. What could be the problem? Dig a little deeper and take a moment to think; this response makes sense.
On release, a person who has served a custodial sentence will face the same, complex issues that may have contributed to them going to prison in the first place. Issues including trauma and addiction, and structural inequalities such as racism, poverty, homelessness and unemployment.
On top of this, they will have to deal with problems that are the direct result of a prison sentence. Perhaps the loss of a job or a home, or the breakdown of relationships - all of which become considerably more difficult to rebuild when you have a conviction.
And, don’t forget, those who have served longer sentences will be returning to a changed world. Things many of us take for granted, like social media, online banking, and self-service checkouts might feel intimidating, inaccessible, or even incomprehensible.
This would be a lot for anyone to deal with, even someone who hasn’t had the damaging and traumatic experiences that are inherent to a prison sentence. Even a short time in prison can have a detrimental impact on someone's confidence, motivation and hopes for the future; holding them back. It’s plain to see why someone leaving prison might feel anxious.
Unfortunately, while there are pockets of excellent practice, support for people leaving prison - who are dealing with these anxieties - is patchy. There’s an ever widening gap; despite the period immediately after release being a high-risk time for people to reoffend.
Our programme goes some way to bridging that gap, through coaching and practical support that continues after release, for as long as someone needs us. But, we can always do better. And so, we recently sought the advice of those who know best. We held listening exercises with men at two of our partner prisons, who discussed their concerns about their release, and what they thought might help before, during and after. The session was insightful, and participants were clear about the things that mattered to them.
Mental health support
As a society, we’ve really started to develop our understanding of the impact of trauma. For the people we work with, there is pre-existing trauma that isn’t addressed in prison, and prison is traumatic in itself. The men we spoke with thought that access to counselling - pre and post release - was key to addressing the trauma of prison, and life before it.
Opportunities to exercise or access the gym were important too. This is key to maintaining good physical and mental health in prison, and participants were keen to keep this up on release.
Peer support and mentoring
Prisons are unique environments, with their own structures, rules, and ways of communicating. The people we talked with wanted help recalibrating their language and approach to relationships, and readjusting to social norms. They wanted guidance on coping with judgement and stigma, and to relearn how to speak with people in the community. For some, this looked like people in prison supporting each other, and for others it was being mentored by someone from the community - before and after release.
Feeling inspired
Rebuilding a life after prison isn’t easy. And, on top of that, prison impacts people’s confidence, motivation and hopes for the future. Some of the men we spoke with were looking for success stories - hearing from people who had been through similar experiences, and come out the other side thriving. Motivation mitigates boredom, and keeps us on track to leaving the criminal justice system behind for good.
Building a community
Leaving prison can be isolating, especially if your relationships have broken down, or you’re trying to keep a distance from people who’ve had a negative impact on you in the past. The men who participated in our listening exercise thought that opportunities to meet the “the right people” could be helpful, as could “less formal” professional relationships. Some were also looking for someone to go to for help with building healthy relationships.
Knowledge is power
Someone leaving prison will often be presented with their licence conditions just moments before stepping through the gate. This often complex document outlines the rules a person must follow, or risk being recalled to prison. The men we spoke with worried about the risk of recall, and thought that having someone explain their licence conditions to them while in prison would be helpful.
They also wanted more contact with probation prior to release, and more information generally - whether about employment or financial support, education and training or health services.
Getting the basics right
It’s not surprising that at the top of people’s minds are the practicalities of coming out of prison, and navigating the first hours and days. A popular suggestion was having someone meet you at the gate on release day, to support you on your first day back in the community. Participants agreed this would be especially valuable for those with drug or alcohol dependencies. They were also keen to have access to travel and accommodation, a change of clothes, a phone with credit, and enough food to get you through the first 24 hours.
While StandOut goes some way to bridging gaps in the practicalities (our release packs), knowledge (our course, coaching, and referrals), and mental health support (our coaches are mental health first aiders) - the other two have given us food for thought. We look forward to building on this learning and asking ourselves, how might we incorporate inspiration, community building and peer support into our programme?
We’d like to thank those who met with our coaches to discuss how they feel about release, for generously sharing their time and expertise, to inform our work and support others leaving prison.
These are six things people leaving prison need to thrive, according to men at HMP Wandsworth and HMP Wormwood Scrubs. Taken from our blog, Mind the gap. What people leaving prison told us they need to thrive.
