Finding someone to walk alongside in the justice system
A recent graduation at HMP Wandsworth reminded us of the importance of relationships for people preparing to leave prison.
Around 1,700 people left prison on 10 September under the government’s early release scheme, and more have been released in the intervening weeks. Many will have walked through the prison gates and into the community, with very little preparation and next to no support.
The scheme to automatically release certain people after serving 40% of their sentence (rather than the usual 50%) is necessary to reduce overcrowding. But little thought has been given to what happens when those people reach the other side of the prison walls.
For prison to be truly rehabilitative and equip people with the tools they need to successfully rebuild their lives there must be support on either side of the gate – in prison and in the community.
Participating in education, training and work while in custody vastly improves a person’s chances of successfully moving forward with life and not returning to prison. And yet, according to His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons’ Annual Report 2023-24, education, training and work (known as ‘purposeful activity’) continues to be the worst performing area. This year, 31 of the 39 adult prisons inspected were judged as ‘poor’ or ‘not sufficiently good’ in that area[1].
We’re convinced of the potential of this kind of activity to transform lives; it’s why we run our three-week course in prison. We know that it must also be delivered alongside personalised, practical support that helps people to achieve stability in their lives. At the launch of his annual report last month, Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor stressed that, to successfully reintegrate into society and not reoffend, people leaving prison need three things:
- Stable accommodation.
- Access to healthcare.
- Something productive to do with their time.
Or four, after prompting by Bishop Rachel Treweek to include:
- Meaningful and healthy relationships.
While in many ways the report makes for grim reading, we have found it encouraging as it underlines the vital nature of work like ours.
The importance of relationships can often get lost amid the scramble for accommodation, healthcare, and employment on release. But for StandOut, relationships are central to everything that we do.
It is the relationships that we create on the landings where we recruit for our course, develop in the coaching room throughout our three-week course, solidify as we support people to prepare for release, and rely upon when they have been released into the community. Our coaches walk alongside our participants in prison, through the gates, and into the community – for as long as they need us.
At HMP Wandsworth last week, nine men graduated from our three-week course. Facing an audience can be anxiety-inducing for the most practiced of us and yet, despite this being a new experience, each participant stood up in front of their peers, the StandOut team, volunteers, and representatives from across the prison, to speak about what they had gained from the last three weeks.
While always a special moment, this one felt particularly so, as two common themes wove their way through each participant’s presentation: their pride in the achievements of their peers, and the community that they had created in a small room off a wing at an old Victorian prison in London. Each of them had found a sense of strength in community and support, not only in the StandOut team,
“I've heard from people that have gone home that the people working for StandOut actually help you on the outside.”
and in each other,
“Not only have I grown, but I have seen you all grow, and I see a friend in each of you.”
but most importantly, in themselves,
“I no longer feel alone, because I now have all the tools.”
If you’d like to join us and celebrate our participants at a StandOut graduation, please email info@standout.org.uk.
[1] His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales Annual Report 2023-24, p32.