A window into LandWorks

“So, I’ve always had real interest in working with people who have been through the Criminal Justice System. I think when … yeah, when I was kind of like trying to decide what I wanted to study and things like that, criminology was kind of right up there and criminal psychology and kind of understanding why people do the things that they do. Yeah, I definitely wanted to be more on the rehabilitation side of things and not the enforcement side of things, so I’m lucky enough to land a job working with guys who have just come out of prison in supported accommodation. That was in [City], and I did that for a few years and all of the things that they were kind of saying that they needed in order to stabilise their lives was like stable accommodation, meaningful activity like during the day, something to do, and kind of better access to like mental health support and things like that. So yeah, I did that for a while and then when I heard about LandWorks and kind of did a bit of research into it, it was pretty much, bar the accommodation side of things, but all of the, you know, all of the things that the guys were saying would help them that they didn’t have in [City] was pretty much here, you know, there was kind of easier access to mental health support in terms of Becca, the psychotherapist; there was meaningful activity in terms of, you know, they come here, they get involved in the enterprises, you know, there is that kind of more community sort of feel and yeah, they can also access the kind of resettlement side of things, the more kind of practical life admin type stuff, and it’s all in one place […] I think that that was kind of the thing that really attracted me to this job in the first place. So yeah, I applied and kind of managed to get it and yeah, that’s kind of what brought me to LandWorks, I guess.

My first day, I do remember my first day. Yeah, I do remember my first day and the thing that shocked me was how calm and chilled everything was because I’d come from this environment where everything was chaos, you know, because these guys, they were not receiving the appropriate level of support. They were, you know … I had spent the last sort of three years like putting out really extreme fires and that was pretty much my entire job, and you know, they weren’t happy, most of the time they were off their face, most of the time it was just chaos, just all the time. But here, you know, it’s a completely different environment and I think that in itself, when you take someone out of the city and the chaos that they’re in perhaps in their home life, you immediately see like a change of attitude because you can’t necessarily come out here, you know, in this kind of beautiful surrounding and feel miserable, it’s really difficult and you know, there are so many things to kind of like look at and see and kind of like natural but peaceful and quiet stuff. So I think that was like the first thing that I kind of realised and secondly, like people wanted to be here, like the guys wanted to be here, which again was madness because you know, they had come from a place where they were always complaining about I’ve got this fucking appointment, I’ve got this fucking appointment and you know, they didn’t want to engage because they didn’t find it beneficial and it was just a bit of an inconvenience to them in their life, even though it was wrapped up and you know, presented as support, it really didn’t do much in the way of support, it didn’t really make a difference. But yeah, the guys that were here, on my first day, like they were really happy to be here, and I think that was the first thing that I kind of really took onboard was the appreciation and respect that all of them have for this place, which is really, really odd, but also is part of the magic of this place. Yeah, you know, everyone was lovely, everyone was really enthusiastic and I think overall like it, you know, the guys were always saying this place works, this is what I needed to get away from drugs, to get away from, you know, the group of people that I was hanging around with that were getting me into trouble, to get away from the kind of trauma and chaos of my past experiences and stuff.

That is where you get all of your job satisfaction … is when you get a good outcome for somebody and when someone is doing really well and someone, you know, is … so yeah, I mean there are plenty of things that I love about this job, you know, I love the team, like the relationships with my colleagues and stuff, they’re great. I love the kind of flexibility and creativity. You’re allowed to be a bit odd here, which is quite nice. I like the ethos of the place in terms of, you know, we all sit down, we have a family meal, which is really nice and again, it kind of allows you to interact with everyone in like a slightly less formal setting, you know, you’re sat there and you’re like pass us the squash mate, you know, all of this, which is lovely and you see people in different context and you get a better idea of who they are as a person. I think that’s really nice. But yeah, there’s plenty to love about this place, but I think my highlights are when it works out for these people who it’s not worked out for, for so long, because you know, I think everyone kind of deserves the basic ability to, you know, be safe, be secure, not have to worry about, you know, where you’re gonna get your next meal, not having to worry about where you’re gonna sleep tonight, not having to worry about, you know, getting a job or this, that and the other, and you know, people don’t start with the same advantages and disadvantages, but they’re all expected to get to the finish line at the same time. That doesn’t work, you know, if someone’s starting 10 paces back, then they’re gonna get there … they’re gonna find it harder and you know, that is kind of the reality and the sort of viciousness of the world. Yeah, so when it works out for the guys, that is definitely like my highlight, 100%.”