CHANGED AND OUT INSIDE

Interview by Emily Bright

HARRY and his mum moved into a new area when he was 16 years old. At that time she was frequently self-harming, and he was the one who had to call for ambulances. Looking for somewhere to fit in during a tough time, Harry fell in with a bad crowd who dealt drugs and burgled houses. Criminality became his new normal. Eventually, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison, and ended up serving seven and a half months. Two weeks into his sentence, he discovered that his mum had cancer, and she deteriorated quickly. He was allowed to visit her at the hospice, where a chaplain introduced him to youth charity In2Out, which mentors teenage offenders in prison.

At first Harry saw engaging with In2Out as an excuse to leave his prison cell, but he began to trust his mentor, who provided emotional support in the wake of his mum’s death. The charity gave him career advice, and taught him people skills and how to cook. He is now a doting young dad, with a job, driving licence and healthy lifestyle.

In2Out works at Wetherby young offender institution. The charity was established in 2013 when one of the chaplains felt there needed to be support for young people once they left prison. Originally working with young men, the charity now also works with young women at the young offender institution.

‘We meet with young people in custody who want a shift in their lives and don’t want to come back to prison,’ says Mark Screeton, executive director of In2Out. ‘We can begin to work with them and form a trusting relationship with them.

‘The young people are in a moment of crisis, thinking: “I’ve been sent to prison. Where do I go from here?” And we can say: “There are opportunities and potentially a different path for you. We’ve seen it evidenced in other young people’s lives. If you want our support, we’ll stick with you as you go through that.” That’s not a message they’ve heard very often.

‘While they’re in custody, we get to know them and listen to their story. We start to understand where they’ve come from, their family dynamics. We talk about the challenges that they expect to face when they get out, such as where they’re going to live, what they’re going to do and if they’re going to be able to see family and friends. We can help them find the answers, or at least think through the options.’ people supported by In2Out have come from ‘varying degrees of broken homes’.

‘I think last year it was close to 60 per cent of the young people that we supported had been in care,’ he says, ‘whereas about 1 per cent of the general population has been in care.

‘It’s almost like the care system is a conveyor belt into prison, which is quite shocking. A lot of the people we see have very difficult family situations. Many have dropped out of school, so their education has not been complete. There are a lot of learning difficulties, which can mean that they don’t necessarily fit into the

Mark says that many of the young Turn to page 10 f mainstream systems of education and they are at a massive disadvantage that can often lead them to be excluded from school, with the knock-on effect of them getting sucked into negative peer groups and gang affiliation. Such associations can lead to them committing serious crimes and ending up in prison.’

To break the cycle of reoffending and prepare the young people for independent living outside prison, the charity runs the Lifeskills challenge, a 12 to 15-week course which, Mark explains, teaches them everyday skills.

‘They need to cook for themselves, to be able to clean their home, and to understand how bills work, how to write a letter, how to update a CV. We talk through the things they’re going to be challenged with when they get out, help them to work out a solution and build their confidence.’

After the young person is released from prison to stay in a family home or hostel, their mentor is often the first face to greet them.

‘We will continue to mentor the young person, so we’re able to bridge the chasm between custody and community,’ says Mark.

‘Many people who find themselves in prison find the transition from prison back into the community difficult. What’s maybe slightly more peculiar for this group of prisoners is that many of them are still children, with stories of quite extreme neglect and abuse. So that continuity is even more essential, because it’s often what they’ve lacked in their early childhood. When it comes to release, it will be their In2Out mentor who picks them up at the gate.’

Mark explains that, after leaving prison, the young people are given ‘a leaving custody kit’, which can include food vouchers, clothing and a mobile phone and credit so that they are able to communicate with their In2Out mentor, their youth offending team and their probation worker.

‘We give them that basic package to get them started,’ he says. ‘In those first weeks it’s about sorting the practical stuff out: getting them a bank account, helping them get ID, registering with a doctor or dentist, signing up for college courses and looking into apprenticeships.’

The mentors also encourage the young people to develop positive social networks through volunteering, joining a gym or sports club or engaging with a faith community. The charity also teaches them to identify and manage triggers for their offending behaviour, making sure they react in a healthy way.

Mark says that In2Out supports the young people for as long as needed.

‘Ideally, over time, the amount of contact they need or want with their mentor trails off, but we’re still there. So we say to a young person when they sign up that, as long as they are serious about change, we’ll be involved for at least one year after their release.

‘But that’s not a bookend. We’re still supporting young men that we started working with when they were 17 or 18 and they’re now in their mid-20s. If they’re in a bit of a mess or don’t know what to do, they can call their In2Out mentor and ask for some advice and talk things through.’

In2Out’s hard work has paid dividends, Mark says.

‘In the national statistics for 15 to 18-year olds leaving prison, between 65 and 70 per cent will reoffend within 12 months. With our lads, the figure is always less than 25 per cent.

‘If a young person does reoffend six or nine months after coming out of prison, that’s always disappointing,’ he adds. ‘But it may be that, if they have been a serial offender for many years and they have managed to stay out of trouble for six to nine months, that is progress. Looking at it in a black-and-white way ignores the complexity of the issues. We would go back and visit that young person who does reoffend.’

Mark highlights how the In2Out staff approach such visits with grace and sensitivity.

‘We ask: “Where do you think it went wrong? What was going on?” And then we ask them: “Do you want to try again?”

‘Most of them don’t expect to see us again, and those that do might expect to be told: “You blew it.” And so to have grace given to them is a big deal for them, and sometimes these kids can get emotional. They will say: “I can’t believe you want to give it another go. And this time, I am on it. I’m really going to do it.”

‘That’s what it takes sometimes. Each time they’re getting a bit stronger and more resilient. They’re realising that actually they can get knocked down or trip up, but they can get back up again if the right support is there.’

Focusing resources and energy on rehabilitation is the only real way to tackle offending, Mark says.

‘If we want a safer society where these young people are contributing and are maximising their potential for the community, then you have to engage with them. If you don’t, you will just end up locking them up for the rest of their lives.

‘The young people have made mistakes, often very serious ones –there’s no getting away from that. But they deserve a second chance because it’s in everyone’s interest that we try. We show them that it’s possible to get on to a different track.’

The staff of In2Out are driven by their Christian faith. Mark explains that the grace they show to the young people is ‘what God does for all of us, every day, through Jesus’.

‘We don’t live any more under the condemnation of our sin because we’ve been given grace,’ he says. ‘In2Out is an organisation built around our Christian foundations. Our staff, trustees and many of our volunteers all understand this fundamental calling, to recognise in each of these damaged young people someone created in the image of God, deeply loved by him and deserving of forgiveness and grace as we are.

‘That’s why we’re persistent in our pursuit of the young people we work with. They’ve learnt not to trust people. They will push you away, or they’ll try to see whether you will walk away. Often our persistence is the thing that breaks through that, like going back to them if they’re brought back to custody. It’s this idea of God running after us. He doesn’t give up, so we won’t give up either.

‘What strikes me is how powerful it is to be able to speak God’s love to these people. They’re desperate for hope, grace and God’s love in their life, even if they don’t know that they are. And every day, we get the chance to show them that.’

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