My name is Jason Barnfather and I am an Influencing Intern at Switchback. I’m excited to share my journey with you.
I will be writing a three-part blog series on relevant issues regarding Recall, Resettlement & Employment. I will be speaking about issues such as mental health, overcrowding and transferable skills. Using my experience in the justice system I can provide valuable insights based on my firsthand account.
I am grateful for having this platform to be able to share my thoughts and get people talking about the right things. Writing this has been somewhat therapeutic for me, to reflect and gain perspective on my journey through the system. Changing perceptions is important for real change to begin.
The timing of this blog series couldn’t be any better with the general election happening and lots of talk about prison reforms. I hope to raise awareness and be heard over the crowd but most importantly to bring about positive change. Here is part 3…
The first twelve weeks after leaving prison are essential in starting as I mean to go on. The right kind of ongoing support is vital for empowering me to live life differently and connect with my community. I was encouraged by my Switchback Mentor to create a vision of what I want to do for work, I was made to become aware that a lot of “skills” I used to commit crimes are transferable and to see my lived experience as an asset.
Aside from the mentoring I was given Tesco vouchers and had my Oyster card topped up which helped me to travel to see my family and strengthen those relationships; I am eternally thankful for that.
Soon, I saw an opening at Switchback on the Influencing team, I went for it, and I got the internship! My family are proud of me for securing employment. I believe every person having served a custodial sentence deserves another chance and has the right to live their life differently.
With all the best intentions in the world, I could not have gotten to where I am now without the support that I have received from various organisations such as Switchback, Trailblazers, Oak London, ARKRS and Spark Inside. I am one individual case in the prison leavers population, and these organisations require more resources to support men back into the community.
Many people in prison are amazingly talented, but after being imprisoned, institutionalised and traumatised it becomes easy to forget what skill sets you have. I went to prison for selling drugs and on reflection I am able to see that I have customer service skills, managerial, organisation and logistics skills, to name a few.
There is a plethora of expertise that prison leavers have at their disposal. We have neglected the fact there is a huge workforce being released from our prisons every day and they’re being overlooked. Furthermore, probation is swift to recall people without proper investigation which to me is the height of all folly, evidently this has led to an overcrowding crisis.
I want to reiterate this point again and really drive it home: rehabilitation done in the right way has the potential to end the crisis prisons are currently in. Moreover, the tremendous benefits to society are innumerable. Our country should facilitate a pathway for people to be reformed; resettlement has to take precedence over punishment to have the desired result.
I have been out of prison for under six months, and I have transitioned into work and the community quite well with some help and maybe a bit of good fortune, but these positive outcomes don’t need to be lucky shots in the dark. There are proven methods that work at reintegrating prison leavers into society and employment.
With all that said I am optimistic that the value of mentorship and rehabilitation will be recognised and acted on to create a better system for everyone.
