I always figured Prison was a place where bad people go and it was only when a decision to work somewhere for 6 months in a sales capacity led to a conspiracy charge 5 years later, did I come to realise, it genuinely could happen to anyone and that it’s often not necessarily a person that is bad, but a bad choice or decision/moment/situation or company that can have someone fall through the cracks and into the Criminal Justice System.

I was fortunate that despite a fairly short insight of the system and period of reflection, I had family and a support network and my faith that helped see me through, but there are many with complex needs who don’t get the support they need to move on out and without clear pathways and a helping hand, they go through the revolving doors trying to re-integrate and navigate judgement, stigma and a lack of second chances.

Using my skill set of connecting people and helping businesses grow, I re-applied it to the issues I saw and faced, now empathetic to the challenges and to prevent great work by not-for-profits being done in silos – I wanted to turn my experience into a positive for others and offer a better way.

My Why Is ultimately my desire to give back and ensure that by supporting people to have and make choices we can give hope and have a more joined up system where people are not restricted by their past and have the tools and access and are empowered to build a brighter future to reach their highest potential.