“When I was taken into prison, I thought that everything I lived for had been taken away, not only my freedom, but my liberty too. This I felt for some years inside, and saw it in others there, so to me, it became normal. Towards the end of my sentence, I met various organisations, that wanted to help me adjust to the outside, but although they meant well, I felt it was a tick exercise. On release, I was very sceptical, when my probation officer suggested Nacro as a support group, but still went along with it.
I’m so pleased that I went to the group, immediately it felt different, to any other organisation. I felt very supported, and listened to, right from the beginning, and what I had to say counted. The group is very dynamic, and I find it useful to take the experiences for all the group members, this includes the facilitators too.
I now have the confidence to expand out into other interests away from the group. This I know I wouldn’t have done if I hadn’t had the encouragement, from the team and other group members.
I hope that other people can get the experience that I’ve had, and I hope that I continues along this path. It’s a very strong arm in the rehabilitation of ex offenders.”
