Welcome
Welcome to a special edition of this newsletter, focusing on our work on recovery from drugs and alcohol for people within HMP Bristol, and into the local community.
A message from Matt Wall, Head of Services – Midlands and Southwest Prisons
As a remand prison, HMP Bristol is a fast paced and dynamic place for us to be working. We meet so many new people every week who can benefit from our support and we quickly make plans with them to ensure their safety and work towards their recovery goals.
Over the last year and a half, we have built an amazing team of committed and passionate staff, bringing with them diverse skills and experience. We also bring on board the expertise of serving prisoners who want to ‘give back’ and there are opportunities available for our clients to become valuable Peer Mentors.
One of our biggest areas of focus is around planning for the future. We are so pleased that since we started working in HMP Bristol the percentage of people who continue their drug and alcohol treatment in the community after a release has doubled – and we continue to work to further improve this.
We hope you enjoy reading this newsletter, which gives an overview of some of the many exciting pieces of work we are currently involved in. If you want to find out more, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Getting to know our staff: a Through the Gate Worker at HMP Bristol
What drew you to working for Change Grow Live?
I previously worked in a prison during my placement at university and found that I really enjoyed working with the clients and that my values and life experiences aligned with my role. I always wanted to go back to working with people in prison and their substance use, so when a job came up for Change Grow Live it was the perfect opportunity.
What would you say to someone wanting to access support, or feeling anxious about starting their recovery?
Starting a recovery journey can be scary, especially for someone who has never accessed support for their substance use before. That first phone call may be the hardest, but the person on the other end is passionate and dedicated to helping you and will do this without judgement and with the utmost respect. We have built positive working relationships with a large scale of services that can help with housing, physical and mental health and purposeful activities, which improves our continuity of care.
Having in-depth release plans means that they can access support on the day of release and already have a relationship with other services.
How do you tailor your approach to each individual person?
Every individual has different past and present experiences, which means their future plans should also reflect this.
If every person tries to follow the same route to recovery, it won’t always work.
Once someone comes onto my caseload, we talk about the support they have had previously, what their engagement was like and what they think they need to be supported better. If someone has never engaged well in community support, we will look at what needs to be different this time.
Can you share any tips for working with different groups of people?
Take your time and listen, it’s important to understand differences and people’s backgrounds to fully understand their behaviour and to be able to build a relationship. Be flexible in your ideas and ways of working to include everyone in your support and make it accessible to all.
What have you learned most through doing this role?
Patience and persistence are key.
Why training our volunteers is so important
Our amazing volunteers come from different backgrounds and walks of life and help us make a real difference to people’s lives by providing support and inspiration to help them change their lives for the better.
All we ask is that they are kind, open-minded, non-judgemental and passionate about supporting people, and we provide all of the training, guidance and support.
“The induction training has been great, equipping me with the knowledge and skills necessary for safe and professional engagement within the prison environment.” (Volunteer at HMP Exeter)
Benefits for volunteers at Change Grow Live:
- Opportunity to give back and gain greater understanding of the sector and challenges facing those accessing services.
- Great starting point for those wanting to work in the substance misuse field or as a foundation for those considering a career change.
- Supervisory, training and assessment experience for staff members.
- Access to Level 1/2, regulated qualifications that can be used to populate CV, enhance college applications, demonstrate knowledge and competency, specific transferable skills and experience to evidence on-going development.
- Knowledge and understanding of working within professional boundaries in line with Change Grow Live’s policies and procedures.
- To raise self-esteem, improve communication skills and self-confidence.
“We are committed to offering everyone who wants to volunteer with us, a rich and rewarding experience, one that we hope will make a significant contribution to their life experience and future.”
Matt Taylor, Regional Volunteering & Accredited Learning Lead.
Improving support for people who are neurodivergent
A recent joint review by criminal justice inspectorates estimates that around half of those entering prison have some form of neurodivergent condition, which impacts their ability to engage. This is much higher than in the outside community and makes it even more of a priority to address.
We are now mid-way through a 12-month project to maximise accessibility for all people using our services, including those who are neurodivergent within the prison environment.
Project manager Elain Wilcock is working with Genius Within (a largely neurodivergent-led organisation) to identify improvement opportunities.
Elaine has worked alongside neurodivergent people for over a decade, co-designing and co-producing new services and pathways of support to reduce barriers to access and improve genuine inclusion. Elaine is passionate about ensuring people with lived experience are at the centre of all design and redesign activity, understanding that their voice must drive the change we want to see, in order to achieve meaningful impact. We are lucky to be supported by experts from our Lived Experience Network, ensuring neurodivergent people with lived experience of addiction and the criminal justice system are informing and influencing service redesign.
To date, we have heard directly from staff and people who are using our service about what is important to them, learning about the everyday challenges people face in both delivering and accessing support. Some common themes have been around the stigma and supporting improved workforce capability, but also noticing the difference that our staff have made to their lives, going the extra mile to do whatever they could to reduce the loneliness and hardship of being in prison.
Nick’s Peer Mentor story
Our dedicated workers at Change Grow Live make a difference to the people in their care each and every day. One example of this is Peer Mentor Nick, who was based in HMP Bristol and has recently been released.
Nick arrived at HMP Bristol in April 2023 and started working with us through one-to-ones and group work, becoming a Peer Mentor in the last 5 months. The Wing needed more Peer Mentors and Nick stood out to the team from the progress with his own recovery, his friendly manner and the way he would already support people on the Wing.
What drew him to accepting the role as a Peer Mentor?
"I have been here for a few years and it feels good to chat to people" he said, while at HMP Bristol. "Doing this job forces you not to be alone."
It can be easy to isolate yourself and hide away, but Nick built a great relationship not only with others and staff on his wing, but also with all members of the team and valued the trust that he was given for the role.
Peer Mentoring not only helps others on the wing, but it has also been a motivating factor for Nick in his road to recovery - "I’ve been given a chance and I’ve honoured it. I’ve stuck to it and have kept clean."
Being in HMP Bristol was not easy. There were a few tragedies on his wing and times have been hard. However, he comments, "The team at Change Grow Live had a daily presence when we needed them the most. We all noticed it, and it made a massive difference."
With a passion and a natural artistic talent, Nick often designed cards for people and was regularly asked to draw portraits to be used as gifts for others. "I’m quite a good artist and have a reputation for it now. It keeps me busy and I enjoy being creative."
Nick was released from HMP Bristol in February, and he plans to continue to build on his creative skills. Looking to the future, Nick hopes to be able to work with Change Grow Live one day and to give something back once he has settled into the community.