Life After Prison will be back with you soon but while we are finalising series 4 in the studio, we thought we would share some episodes of another podcast here. It’s called The Secret Life of Prisons and is made by our colleagues at the Prison Radio Association. This episode is all about lifers and is part one of two.

What is it like to receive a life sentence?

We're joined by two people who have had this experience - both have been to prison and are now outside living with a 'life licence'.

They join Phil and Paula in the studio, along with criminologists Serena Wright and Susie Hulley.

Serena is a researcher and Lecturer in Criminology in the Department of Law and Criminology at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. Her research on prisons and penology has focused on short-term sentences and post-release ‘frustrated desistance’ among women, and the experience of long-term incarceration among life-sentenced prisoners.

Susie is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge. She is interested in how young people are affected by the criminal justice system, particularly their experiences of criminalisation and imprisonment. Her recent work focuses on the application of ‘joint enterprise’ by criminal justice practitioners (including lawyers and the police) and the impact of this legal doctrine on young people.

Useful Organisations

• Prison Reform Trust

• NACRO

• Unlock

• PACT

• Clinks Directory

If you need mental health support:

• CALM

• CALM helpline – 0800 58 58 58 (open 5pm-midnight)

• Samaritans

• Samaritans helpline – 116 123 (24 hours)

• MIND

• MIND Infoline number – 0300 123 3393 (provides an information and signposting service. Open 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday except for bank holidays.)

• SHOUT – text for free any time on 85258

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.

He’s just released his debut album Worlds End FM, recently played at Glastonbury, and is getting played on Radio 1 and 2. But life wasn’t always like this for Hak Baker. Here, he tells Zak and Jules the story of how he learnt to play guitar while in prison, and how he’s turned it into a successful career since coming out.

If you want to hear more from Hak, check out this episode of our sister podcast Outside In where Hak chats to our colleagues Nico and Richie. 

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

Useful organisations:

• Irene Taylor Trust

• Finding Rhythms

• Hak’s website

If you need mental health support:

• CALM – 0800 58 58 58 (open 5pm-midnight)

• Samaritans – 116 123 (24 hours)

• MIND – 0300 123 3393 (provides an information and signposting service. Open 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday except for bank holidays.)

• SHOUT – text for free any time on 85258

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.

As a young person, Julie Muir struggled with addiction and was often in and out of prison as a result. While she was in for the final time, she met a peer supporter who inspired her to get clean inside, and she hasn’t looked back since. Julie is now Director of Recovery at The Forward Trust, the same organisation that helped her when she was inside. Here she shares her story of what it’s like to have a young son while in prison, how she chooses recovery each day, and her aspirations for the future.

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

Useful organisations:

• Alcoholics Anonymous

• Narcotics Anonymous

• The Forward Trust

• New Leaf Initiative

• NACRO

• Place2Be

• Frank – 0300 1236600

• We Are With You

• Kaleidoscope

• Humankind

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.

Tracey started out playing online bingo and ended up stealing over one million pounds from her employer to fund a gambling addiction. Here, she tells Zak and Jules about what led to her confession, what experiencing prison in your 50’s is like, and how becoming a peer support worker while inside led her to the work she does now with St Giles Trust.

Almost a quarter of people in prison have reported having a gambling problem. Our sister podacst, Hold or Fold is about gambling harm and offers advice and guidance to people whose lives have been impacted by gambling. You can listen to Hold or Fold wherever you get your podcasts or find it here 

If you're struggling with debt as a result of gambling there are lots of episodes of our sister podcast Money Mondays that could help. In this episode Zak and Emma get some great advice about how to talk to your creditors if you've got problems with debt.

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

Useful organisations:

• GamCare – 0808 802 0133

• Shaw Trust

• St Giles Trust

• Gamble Aware

• Bet Know More

• Sussex Prisoners Families

If you need mental health support:

• CALM

• CALM helpline – 0800 58 58 58 (open 5pm-midnight)

• Samaritans

• Samaritans helpline – 116 123 (24 hours)

• MIND

• MIND Infoline number – 0300 123 3393 (provides an information and signposting service. Open 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday except for bank holidays.)

• SHOUT – text for free any time on 85258

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.

This episode features forensic psychologist Sally Tilt and Dean Cramer, who spent six years inside. Alongside Zak and Jules, they discuss the long term mental impact that being inside has on someone, and the positives and negatives that they have carried over to their life after prison.

If you're interested in more on this topic, in this episode of our sister podcast The Secret Life of Prisons, Dwaine Patterson talks about spending 7 years in the seg while he was in prison and the long term impact of this on the rest of his life. 

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

Useful organisations:

• Shout – Shout 85258 is a free, confidential, anonymous text support service. Available 24/7 from anywhere in the UK

• Northern Learning Trust

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 Jules’ dad, Graham, and Gasconi, who became a dad the day before he went inside. They discuss how prison affected these relationships, what they did to get through it and where they are today.

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

Useful organisations:

• A Fairer Chance

• Storybook Dads

• Children Heard and Seen

• Sussex Prisoners Families

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.

Zak and Jules sit down with the CEO of HMPPS, Amy Rees to ask her about how prison officers are trained, how prisoner complaints are dealt with inside and ask some important questions about licence conditions and recall.

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

Useful organisations:

• Clinks Directory

• Prisoners Families Helpline – 0808 808 2003

• Longford Trust

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.

Zak and Jules speak to award-winning lash technician Shanice Lee about the importance of being open and honest about her past, her time in prison and where she found the confidence to start her own business and the resilience that she’s needed to keep going.

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

Useful organisations:

• Prince’s Trust

• Women’s Work

• Housing For Women

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.

Gary Mansfield never thought someone like him could be an artist, but after taking a punt on an art class in prison, he found himself hooked. After writing to artists like Tracey Emin while in prison, Gary found the confidence to pursue art as a career when he got out. Here, he talks about why he makes the work he does and how the art community helped him along the way.

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

Useful organisations:

• Koestler Arts

• Prodigal Arts

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.

While The Sit Down is taking a short break, we bring you Touch Road, a brand new mini-series about life after release from prison. Three people tell their stories of life after walking through the gate. In this final episode, we find out how their stories end.

If you have recently been released from prison, there are lots of organisations that can support you:

Mental Health

• CALM
• CALM helpline – 0800 58 58 58 (open 5pm-midnight)
• Samaritans
• Samaritans helpline – 116 123 (24 hours)

Post Release Support/ Disclosing your conviction

• NACRO
• Unlock
• PACT
• Clinks Directory

Accommodation

• Shelter
• Crisis
• St Mungo’s
• Housing For Women
• St Giles Trust

Employment

• Working Chance
• Switchback
• Employment 4 All
• Only A Pavement Away
• New Futures Network
• St Giles Trust
• Bounceback
• Clean Slate

 Orgs that Support Women

• Advance
• Women In Prison

Addiction and Recovery

• Humankind
• Turning Point

Surviving Abuse

• Survivors UK

Armed Forces Support Organisation

• SSAFA

Care Leavers

• Care Leaver Covenant

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