Life After Prison

In this episode, Zak and Jules chat through the challenges that come with leaving your old life behind after you’ve been in prison.  

 Zak and Jules discuss the strategies they have employed both while inside and on the outside to make sure they keep away from their old lives. They also hear from listeners who share some thoughtful advice on this topic and they share some inspiring words that they find helpful in keeping them grounded on their life after prison journey.

This podcast is also available as a video – just search Life After Prison on YouTube. 

 Useful organisations: 

• 20/20 Levels https://2020levels.org/ 

• Social Ark https://www.socialark.co.uk/ 

• Catch 22 https://www.catch-22.org.uk/ 

This episode of our sister podcast, Money Mondays featuring Laudjah is also really relevant to this topic, where Laudjah talks about his experiences of coming out of prison and of the financial pull that can lead you back to crime. 

 Contact us: 

If anything you’ve heard in this podcast has inspired you to make a positive change in your life, or you’d just like to get in touch, please contact us. 

💬 DM us: @afterprisonpod on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok 

📧 Email us: [email protected] 

✉️ Write to us: Life After Prison, National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF 

🖥️ Website: https://lifeafterprisonpod.com/ 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Jules chats to Michelle, a real force to be reckoned with. Michelle is a huge advocate for people with lived experience of prison working within the criminal justice system, as she knows first hand how powerful that is, and how the right support can go a long way. Michelle experienced a lot of trauma as a child and has dealt with a lot of heartache over the years, which resulted in years of addiction. She now does everything she can to help other people make the changes she’s made herself to improve their lives.

Useful organisations:

• First Contact Clinical https://www.firstcontactclinical.co.uk/
• Neca https://neca.co.uk/
• Junction 42 https://www.junction42.org/
• PACT https://www.prisonadvice.org.uk
• Ingeus https://ingeus.co.uk/

Contact us:

If anything you’ve heard in this podcast has inspired you to make a positive change in your life, or you’d just like to get in touch, please contact us.

💬 DM us: @afterprisonpod on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok

📧 Email us: [email protected]

✉️ Write to us: Life After Prison, National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF

🖥️ Website: https://lifeafterprisonpod.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kieron Bryan is an author, entrepreneur and former prisoner.   In this episode, Kieron tells Zak and Jules how while serving a long prison sentence he discovered his passion for books, and read over 250 behind the door. 

He also shares how he used the skills he learned while in jail to set up multiple businesses, write a chess book for kids called ‘The Pawn Who Wants To Be Queen’, and how he has kept his mindset on track post release doing his Masters Degree and growing all his businesses.  

If you're inspired by Kieron's story, and are thinking about starting your own business, there's some great advice in this episode about Jazz's story in our sister podcast Money Mondays. 

Life After Prison is also available as a video, just search Life After Prison on Youtube.

Useful organisations: 

• Open University https://www.open.ac.uk/ 

• Suited and Booted https://suitedbootedcentre.org.uk/ 

• The Longford Trust https://www.longfordtrust.org/ 

Contact us: 

If anything you’ve heard in this podcast has inspired you to make a positive change in your life, or you’d just like to get in touch, please contact us. 

💬 DM us: @afterprisonpod on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok 

📧 Email us: [email protected] 

✉️ Write to us: Life After Prison, National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF 

🖥️ Website: https://lifeafterprisonpod.com/ 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Jules chats to Milan. Milan works as a careers advisor, alongside studying for a degree in criminology. She’s a self confessed ‘geek’, which is something she found out about herself while serving 8 years of a 16 year sentence in prison. Milan talks to Jules about the different obstacles she dealt with in prison, including the death of a loved one, and what it was like being released after 8 years inside.

The full version of this episode can be found wherever you get your podcasts: https://pod.link/1646949340

Useful organisations:

• Prison Fellowship https://prisonfellowship.org.uk/
• ID Essence https://www.idessence.org/
• St Giles Trust https://www.stgilestrust.org.uk/

Contact us:

If anything you’ve heard in this podcast has inspired you to make a positive change in your life, or you’d just like to get in touch, please contact us.

💬 DM us: @afterprisonpod on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok

📧 Email us: [email protected]

✉️ Write to us: Life After Prison, National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF

🖥️ Website: https://lifeafterprisonpod.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Zak and Jules discuss prison visits. They share their memories of visits they had while they were serving sentences, and talk about what they learned from people still inside about the things they like best about visits. They also talk about the prison walk of shame; what happens when someone ghosts you on a visit. 

In part 2, Zak and Jules share more of their personal memories of visits and hear from some family members of people in prison about what they love about visiting their people inside, and also what they find difficult. They also break down what happens on a closed visit, and why you might get one of those.

Useful Organisations 

• Prison Phone https://www.prisonphone.co.uk/ 

• Families Outside https://www.familiesoutside.org.uk/ 

• Sussex Prisoners Families – https://www.sussexprisonersfamilies.org.uk/ 

• Partners of Prisoners https://www.partnersofprisoners.co.uk/ 

• PACT https://www.prisonadvice.org.uk/ 

• Prisoners Families Helpline 0808 808 2003 

• National Prison Radio Family and Friends Request Show https://prison.radio/national-prison-radio/#songrequest 

Contact us: 

If anything you’ve heard in this podcast has inspired you to make a positive change in your life, or you’d just like to get in touch, please contact us. 

💬 DM us: @afterprisonpod on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok 

📧 Email us: [email protected] 

✉️ Write to us: Life After Prison, National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF 

🖥️ Website: https://lifeafterprisonpod.com/ 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Jules talks to somebody who is working hard to make prisons more supportive places for people with autism. Kirsty has an autism diagnosis herself, and after many years of struggling to find the right support, and having spent time in prison herself, knows what needs to change. She is now using her voice to make changes in the criminal justice system for people who are neurodiverse.

Useful organisations:

• Ingeus,  https://ingeus.co.uk/

• Junction 42, https://www.junction42.org/

• NHS https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/addiction-support/drug-addiction-getting-help/
• The Samaritans https://www.samaritans.org/

Contact us:

If anything you’ve heard in this podcast has inspired you to make a positive change in your life, or you’d just like to get in touch, please contact us.

💬 DM us: @afterprisonpod on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok

📧 Email us: [email protected]

✉️ Write to us: Life After Prison, National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF

🖥️ Website: https://lifeafterprisonpod.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Zak and Jules sit down with former Prison Officer, Alex South to discuss her time working in some of the UKs most notorious prisons including HMPs Whitemoor, Wormwood Scrubs and Belmarsh.  

Alex tells Zak and Jules about the main reasons she wanted to become a prison officer, and talks about the characters she met and the conditions she saw in the prisons she worked in.  

Alex also shares what she thinks needs to be done to improve conditions for staff and prisoners living and working in the UK's prisons, and the importance of positive relationships between staff and prisoners.  

This episode is also available as a video, just search Life After Prison in Youtube.

Useful organisations: 

• Trailblazers https://trailblazersmentoring.org.uk/ 

• National Association of Official Prison Visitors https://www.naopv.com/ 

• Belong https://belongmakingjusticehappen.co.uk/ 

Contact us: 

 If anything you’ve heard in this podcast has inspired you to make a positive change in your life, or you’d just like to get in touch, please contact us. 

💬 DM us: @afterprisonpod on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok 

📧 Email us: [email protected] 

✉️ Write to us: Life After Prison, National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF 

🖥️ Website: https://lifeafterprisonpod.com/ 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Jules talks to successful business woman, Tracy Mackness, who’s had a huge transformation from a self-proclaimed ‘Essex Bad Girl’ to a pig farmer.  

 Tracy runs the Giggly Pig Company, and has around 600 pigs, (as well as 18 dogs and 2 chickens!). Tracy first came into contact with pigs when serving a 10 year prison sentence. One of the over 50 courses Tracy took inside was pig husbandry, and that experience changed her life on a massive scale. 

 The full version of this episode can be found wherever you get your podcasts: https://pod.link/1646949340 

Useful organisations: 

• Giggly Pig Company https://www.gigglypig.co.uk/

• The Oswin Project, Farming Out https://oswinproject.org.uk/our-work/farming-out/

• The Samaritans https://www.samaritans.org/

• Unlock https://unlock.org.uk/

 Contact us: 

 If anything you’ve heard in this podcast has inspired you to make a positive change in your life, or you’d just like to get in touch, please contact us. 

💬 DM us: @afterprisonpod on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok 

📧 Email us: [email protected] 

✉️ Write to us: Life After Prison, National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF 

🖥️ Website: https://lifeafterprisonpod.com/ 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Zak and Jules talk about their experience of having their life on hold when they were in prison.  

They discuss how they felt they were playing catch up in some areas of life while they were inside, and hear from listeners who share their own reflections.   Zak and Jules spend some time talking about some of the things they learnt from that time away including how to manage their money, and also about valuing time and finding patience.   

This podcast is also available as a video – just search Life After Prison on YouTube. 

Useful links: 

Money Mondays Podcast - search wherever you get your podcasts

https://prisonreformtrust.org.uk/  

Contact us: 

If anything you’ve heard in this podcast has inspired you to make a positive change in your life, or you’d just like to get in touch, please contact us. 

💬 DM us: @afterprisonpod on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok 

📧 Email us: [email protected] 

✉️ Write to us: Life After Prison, National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF 

🖥️ Website: https://lifeafterprisonpod.com/ 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Jules chats to Lilly about her incredible journey. After being abandoned as a child, spending two decades in abusive relationships, losing her children to the care system and spending nearly 4 years in prison, Lilly couldn’t be any more content with how her life is now. She works tirelessly to help other women going through the criminal justice system live the kind of life she is now living. Lilly talks passionately about what has helped her get to where she now, where she has a great relationship with her children and is able to look in the mirror and be proud of the woman looking back.

Useful organisations:

• Agenda Alliance https://www.agendaalliance.org/ 

• Daddyless Daughters https://www.daddylessdaughters.co.uk/ 

• One Small Thing https://onesmallthing.org.uk/ 

• Changing Futures https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/changing-futures 

• Samaritans https://www.samaritans.org/ 

• The Shannon Trust https://www.shannontrust.org.uk/ 

Contact us:

If anything you’ve heard in this podcast has inspired you to make a positive change in your life, or you’d just like to get in touch, please contact us.

💬 DM us: @afterprisonpod on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok

📧 Email us: [email protected]

✉️ Write to us: Life After Prison, National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF

🖥️ Website: https://lifeafterprisonpod.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.