After release

Our work in prisons stands in its own right, but it is the combination of our prison activities with our post-release work that completes the job. This post-release work is extremely varied and is based around the needs of the individual.

Imagine you have been in prison for a number of years; all your friends are there - other prisoners, officers, chaplains, teachers etc. Then one day you’re removed from all these people, and from a fixed regime, to freedom and responsibility. Add to that the fact you will be unlikely to have a job (75% of ex-prisoners are unemployed) and there is a good chance you are homeless (30% of ex-prisoners have nowhere to live). How would you cope? So is it surprising that 3 out of 5 offenders re-offend within two years?

overview

why is our work needed?

how can music reduce
re-offending?

the work itself

after release

what people say about us

where we work

As one prisoner put it “you get all this support in jail, then when you walk out the prison gates, nothing - except you guys”. Well it’s not true to say we are the only ones providing this support, but what we provide can, and does, make the difference between re-offending and going straight.

It is the continuity of building relationships on the inside and being there after release that makes the difference - we often meet ex-prisoners at the gate on the day they are released. We are not strangers, they know and trust us.

In addition we have a shared love of music, and as we hold a concert/event every couple months there will be a positive event to focus on as they try to acclimatise to life outside.

While music rarely provides direct answers to the many practical challenges ex-offenders face, it can give them a reason to make the effort to change, and motivation is the foundation for all change.

Yet there is also a significant ‘practical’ element to our post release work. Concerts provide ex-prisoners with real opportunities to create links with local community and faith groups. Learning to perform vastly improves self-esteem and communication skills, as does playing in a group (see How music can reduce re-offending rates page for more information).

Over the last 5 years we have held 54 concerts/events and over 360 individual sessions and contacts, 140 of these in the last year.

In addition to the concerts, music provides us with many varied opportunities to help people. These have included/include:

providing the music at the wedding of an ex-prisoner.
referrals to specialist agencies - the bond formed through playing music together often leads people to be honest about their needs, enabling us to encourage them to seek support from other groups.
organising question and answer sessions during our concerts
providing the background music in a café (regular spot)
raising the funds from our supporters for an ex-prisoner to attend a training course
recording a CD with an ex-prisoner and organising a concert to promote and sell the CD; all the funds raised were used to fund attendance on a training course
an ex-prisoner has become a trustee of Changing Tunes
involving ex-prisoners in conferences - talking and singing about their lives to professionals in the criminal justice sector, including performing and speaking alongside Baroness Scotland when she was The Minister for Criminal Justice.
helping negotiate places in hostels for homeless ex-prisoners, including Emmaus and Amber
improving the likelihood of employment through a music-based course which mirrors the skills required in job hunting – research, written skills, answering questions about yourself and presentation skills
regular one-to-one music teaching sessions that provide motivation and inspiration to counter the lethargy and depression that is extremely common post-release
performance and debate at a school sixth form
participating in church services