I first offended at age eight. It was normal where we came from. I’m 41 and I’ve been in and out of prison for 30 years. I never achieved anything in prison – I vegetated in my cell, not doing much except for getting into trouble. Then a woman came to the prison wanting to train prisoners to help other prisoners with housing problems. My tutor realised that sometimes I needed things explained repeatedly and that my confidence was low. As I progressed I became confident. I started to believe in myself. I saw I could help other people. I had finally found something meaningful, which was enjoyable and kept me out of trouble. Had I not taken part, I would probably still be offending, because I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t notice the change whilst it was happening, but now I see how far I’ve come.
Bill, who took part in the MVMF (part) funded ‘Straight to Work’ project run by St Giles Trust