Case Studies
Kieran
What was your situation before working with CfG?
I was badly bullied at school, my self-esteem and self-confidence were really low, I found it difficult forming relationships, I didn’t really have any meaningful relationships growing up. I got on well with my family, they were good support, but then life took hold…
My mum and dad and my nan all died, my mum and nan in the same 2 weeks. After that I started offending. I went through a number of spells in prison and just kept offending. While on bail coming up to sentencing, I found myself on top of a car park overlooking a tube line, thinking that was a lot more attractive than an unknown length in prison. My last one was a 5 years sentence but this time I found Change for Good.
I was fresh out of a 5 year sentence. I was released ‘no fixed abode’ so when I came across CfG I was living in a homeless hostel. A curate friend from the methodist hall told me about this charity that was setting up a support group in the community for people who have left prison.
What was your experience of the support group?
I didn’t really enjoy it at first, the thought of entering a group of people I didn’t know didn’t exactly appeal to me. But I persevered and kept going back. As I got to know everyone I really relaxed, the clear boundaries of the group took away a lot of the nerves. The offending is part of my story but doesn’t define me. We all get on really well despite all the different personalities. Having that contact with guys who have the same lived experience really helped me settle in.
What’s been your journey since then?
I’ve been a member of the group since the beginning, over 5 years. The group has evolved over that time. I think I have missed 1 week in those 5 years. I enjoy it so much, it’s sometimes the only thing in my weekly calendar. It has been the one constant in my life even through the pandemic which has been so important to not going down the wrong path again.
“I’ll be honest, If it hadn’t been for next chapter I seriously think I would be back in prison by now.”
what has being an ambassador meant to you?
I have facilitated meetings, trying to herd everyone in, help train new volunteers, speak at events in venues across London (even Wimbledon tennis courts!) raising awareness and giving back. I get a sense of achievement and a sense of belonging out of doing something purposeful, having something that can fill my time that is positive rather than negative. Before, it was all negative.
Now I’m in Next Chapter my self-esteem and self confidence are better, and now I have something positive to do with my life, in my weekly routine.
At first I received a lot of help but now it's about getting out what I put in.
Connor
Oct 2022 I was introduced to Change for Good through a Roman Catholic Chaplain who felt Change for Good could help me. At that time my life was spiralling downhill rapidly, and I can’t even remember what I was thinking when they first spoke to me. I was all over the place mentally, I wasn’t sleeping, and I was isolating myself away as much as possible in my cell. We started meeting each week and Steve (CfG Case Manager) would sometimes just come to my cell to check in with me. At the point I was totally hopeless.
Steve helped me express how I felt to staff members and helped ensure I was referred to people who could help me with my mental health. On the back of this, I started weekly sessions with a psychologist who really helped me, and I started to become a bit more stable.
I met weekly with my case worker at CfG, from then on and we got to know each other very well. We then started to plan for my upcoming release day and at first, I was extremely anxious about leaving prison. He helped me feel more confident about being released and I eventually I started to look forward to it a little bit.
One of the team met me in reception and I walked through the gate with him, he came to probation with me and phoned the council with me. He spent all day with me until I finally was given an address in North London. He came to the new place with me.
“ I can honestly say I would’ve ended up on the street without Change for Good.”
I would’ve gone to probation after being released but then I would’ve been totally on my own and God knows what would have happened.
I continued to receive support from staff regularly in the community, until I was introduced to the idea of attending Change for Good’s peer led support group Next Chapter. I was very anxious about going for the first time and I only went because I knew the staff and another member. I enjoyed my first session, everyone was very welcoming. Now I am a core member, it gives me something to look forward to every week.
I was then introduced to my mentor. She and I clicked straight away, she is fantastic and my relationship with her is very important to me. I mentioned to her that I have always wanted to write my life story but have never had the confidence to do so. She told me to “you go for it, write it”. She has given me the confidence to do it and I am loving documenting my early life.