Game chanGer
I was brought up in the care system
due to my mother committing
suicide. Mum was an addict and dad
was an alcoholic, so my childhood
was pretty messy. By the time I was
13 years old, I had lived with ten
different foster carers, including two
kids’ homes.
I was running from the pain of my
past, hurting others and myself. I was
a heavy drug user and always in
trouble with the police. I have lived in
prison for two years and make no
excuses for my crime – however I do
believe there is a strong link between
crime, addiction and mental health.
Before coming to prison I tried so
hard to get help, but my funding to
rehabilitation was blocked because I
was unstable.
While living in prison I have been
shocked at the lack of interventions
to cure people of crime and drugs. It
is too focused on punishment, rather
than using the time for great work.
More than 70 per cent of people in
prison have addiction issues and
many suffer mental health problems.
The government drug strategy
sets out ambition to tackle substance
abuse by building recovery
communities within prisons and
beyond, but I am saddened at the
lack of recovery groups, which could
seriously reduce the reoffending rate.
Is it really so difficult to start some
serious joint working? It breaks my
heart to think of men locked in a cell
23 hours a day when we could be
using this time to help them – not to
mention the annual £40,000 cost to
the taxpayer.
Askham Grange is the prison that
has changed my thinking and
behaviour because staff encourage
you to believe you can be a
constructive member of society. It has
a six per cent reoffending rate
compared to the national 60 per cent
and was awarded ‘outstanding’ by
Ofsted twice within two years. Our
prisons should be places where people
recover, rehabilitate and move away
from crime. The staff here make us
realise teamwork is essential in
keeping our environment friendly, safe
and secure. I feel I now have a future
away from crime, drugs and poverty.
The prison has a project called
‘Me, No Way’, where prisoners talk to
kids in schools – an emotional
experience that really makes you feel
part of our community.
We also have a mother and baby
unit and the gym courses are
excellent – an opportunity that also
steers people away from crime and
drug-fuelled hostels.
I now have a university degree
and would like to develop a social
enterprise that employs ex-offenders.
Askham Grange has made me believe
I am a winner, not a loser, and that I
can help others. On behalf of all
prisoners, I would like to thank the
staff here for seeing us as human
beings who have the power to
change and become better people.
I hope this letter reaches the eyes
of those who have the power to
change things. Politicians and
commissioners could learn so much
from the long-term benefits of
Askham Grange.
Paula Wainwright, HMP Askham Grange
Where’s the loGic?
I've just been reading the latest in a
long line of letters by Ken Eckersley,
CEO of Addiction Recovery Training. In
the recent letter (
DDN
, July/August,
page 9) he is onside with Neil
McKeganey, calling for ‘regular’ and
‘exhaustive’ drug-testing in UK
prisons.
Having worked with class A drug
using offenders for over five years it’s
clear that something is wrong in our
prison system, but I staunchly believe
more prohibitive measures are not
the answer.
Where does it begin and where
does it end? Do you propose testing
for every single drug? Because, in my
experience, if folk want to use, addict
or not, they will find a way. One only
has to look at the extensive list of
illicit prescription drugs that are
currently being used and abused. Or
are we to outlaw the use of every
pharmaceutical drug too? Prohibition
is not a deterrent and I don't believe
it ever truly will be.
It’s a cliché, but change comes from
within. Good people can be around
that person before they are ready –
and good people can be around them
when it’s time to help realise that
change, but no amount of therapeutic
coercion or ‘immediate transfer’ will
support that change. I have never
heard of demoralisation and lack of
autonomy being supportive factors in
people’s recovery.
Another thing to note is that
when mandatory testing for cannabis
was introduced, the fallout was such
that many inmates who had never
used anything but cannabis in jail
turned to heroin, as it left their
system quicker. What happened next
was they left prison with a heroin
habit to feed and, for many, this
began the ‘revolving door’ of years in
and out of prison. So I fail to see how
the proposals are either ‘effective’ or
‘logical’.
Ken ends his letter on a real bum
note when he cites China and the US
as countries to look to; China with
human rights violations galore and
the latter being the proud offender of
incarcerating more people than
anywhere else in the world, many of
whom are serving time for non-
violent drug offences, with some on
life without parole for possession.
For an alternative DVD
recommendation please watch
The
House I Live In
and check the logic.
Support don’t punish!
Jesse Fayle, student mental health
nurse and former criminal justice
recovery practitioner/DIP worker
Khat question
What has been the outcome of the
UK government’s khat ban? This is an
example of the sort of research
question that home secretaries like
Theresa May are typically
uninterested in, and which is
therefore far less likely to receive
public funding.
By contrast, successive
governments encouraged reports
that aimed to demonstrate that khat
chewing was dangerous and should
be banned. When the reports
Letters and Comment
‘Askham Grange is
the prison that has
changed my
thinking and
behaviour because
staff encourage
you to believe you
can be a
constructive
member of society.
It has a six per
cent reoffending
rate compared
to the national
60 per cent.’
18 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| September 2015
