At the Probation hostel in the morning To support more people newly released to adjust to society I find this opportunity rewarding and really enjoy hearing success stories from hostel staff about lads that have moved on into their own accommodation and remained crime free

Whilst I was resident at HMP Gartree I worked with Elaine Shaw in the @Storybookdads workshop between 2006 and 2009, I helped lads record their stories added sound effects and put them onto CD to be posted out to their families, This helps them maintain family ties.

Good session co-facilitating with NACRO recently at a hostel giving information to residents about move on accommodation Later this week I'm doing a Q&A session with Trainee Probation Officers about the realities of Prison life And soon back doing Q&A sessions at a university

In Prison education and training should be provided And where necessary interventions should be available to help someone address their RISK to the public ready for when MOST are eventually released IF none of the above are provided then prison for many becomes a revolving door

I met Alex Norris yesterday in my role as a Probation Mentor, I was sceptical about his appointment as Justice Secretary given the fact he's no experience in the day to day running of Prisons, He seems genuinely interested in doing his best to try and sort the Prison crisis

I push the importance of Restorative Justice which I did with the family of my victim face to face I wrote a letter to my second victim of a GBH I committed in Prison This process is valuable to the Victims and Offender I find it worrying the MOJ are going to limit who takes part

This is a Prison Cell window in MOST closed Male and Female Prisons Hardly any air gets through as the grilled vents open very slightly, The MOJ argues these windows stop Drones delivering contraband which they do, They DON'T provide people with enough fresh air during a heatwave

Regional Lived Experience Mentors meeting yesterday, I gave a positive input as someone on Life Licence, We explored the IPP sentence with an Ex-IPP, Moving people away from life in gangs from an Ex-Gang Member, And the different challenges Men face in prison compared to Woman

Brilliant meeting with NACRO recently myself and an Ex-IPP, Will be co-facilitating sessions at Probation Hostels with NACRO to help those newly released to hopefully get move on accommodation and support once they leave the hostel, We should also be visiting Prisons

Thousands get released HOMELESS from Prison each week, ONLY 104 Probation hostels in the UK 8 are for woman around 2000 places, IF eligible for a hostel you can stay for 3 months, 3 months doesn't give people enough time to adjust to society and look for move on accommodation

Myself and others were rightly in Prison for the punishment part of a sentence But rehabilitation/preparation for release needs to be focused on for those still in Prison as it's not a priority, This should include training for employment and if needed a hostel place with support

Brilliant teams meeting with NAPO, Myself and others with Lived Experience of the Criminal Justice System are going to be doing a series of Podcasts about our experiences of being Mentors with Probation and how we help others to turn their lives away from committing crime

I mentor Ex-Prisoners at a hostel and they tell me, Prisons are becoming more violent due to poorly trained Officers and more people getting Whole Life Orders/longer sentences with nothing to lose, Officers need better training to manage Prisoners who will never get released

Busy afternoon, I'm at an East Midlands forum for us Ex-Prisoners who now Mentor people newly released to adjust to society, We're looking at setting uo more Q&A sessions with Criminology Students/Trainee Probation Officers and expanding our role in other Probation hostels

The session for Healthcare in Prison was really well attended and the lady from East Midlands NHS got us all to suggest questions that people being released with complex mental health issues and possible drug/alcohol dependency need to be asked so they get help in the community

Attending a Healthcare in Prison session tomorrow, Myself and other Ex-Prisoners have been invited to voice our experiences of Prison Healthcare good or bad, This will be an interesting afternoon and might help in a small way to bring about improvements in Prison Healthcare

Good session earlier at the hostel for newly released people as an Ex-Lifer I really enjoy these sessions, I understand the difficulties they face upon release and being able to signpost them to support services for when they move on from the hostel is so important

A busy week coming up firstly a training session with new lived experience Mentors, Then I'm delivering a Q&A session with two experienced Female Mentors to 40+ Trainee Probation Officers about our experiences of the Criminal Justice System

I'm all for people being punished for committing crime but I strongly believe that making those on Community Payback wear orange high vis jackets is wrong, It embarrasses them and leaves them open to ridicule by the general public, This needs a rethink ASAP

At the hostel again Friday to share my Lived Experience of serving a Life Sentence, Hopefully I can encourage some of those I speak to who are newly released, To turn their lives around and stop them creating more victims or returning to Prison