“I vaguely remember the first day. I was very nervous, yeah. Do you know when it was? No, I don’t, because there was a few weeks I didn’t come. Some reasons were valid, but sometimes I just like, you know … but I’m loving it now and my mindset’s so much better. I really look … More Justina says: “they seem to be thriving now, and I’m seeing it in myself…”
“…it was at a bad time in my life where I’d come out of a divorce and lost me kids, lost everything through drink and a bit of drugs and bad company, a boyfriend that beats me up. But yeah, coming out to LandWorks has really helped because it gave me confidence to go out … More Molly says: “Here, we’re just one school”
“I didn’t have a criminal record until I was 40. I wasn’t a master criminal or nothing. It’s s*%t, isn’t it? [Lockdown in prison]… It was just s*%t, lying on a bed for six months. I don’t understand why they’re still doing it now. It’s still lockdown now in prison. F* knows what must be … More Max says: “That’s what you need stability, when you get out of prison… a little stability can create a big change”
“I was fortunate by the grace of God that I didn’t go to prison. I could’ve very easily done had circumstances been different. I’m fully aware of that. You’re thrown into a life where you need to find support, not just for your own mental health, but what LandWorks offers you is, ok, so you … More Jeremy says: “The amount of people that I’ve seen that have been through and yet still come back, I think that kind of rubber-stamps how brilliant this place is…”
“Since being here I’ve been working on the veg patch, harvesting veg, which is pretty cool and interesting. I’ve learnt quite a few things … harvesting different things … like kale and stuff, knowing where to cut it. I’ve never done that before. What else? I’ve done a bit of woodwork helping Graham make benches. … More Robin says: “It took getting into trouble to really get some help”
“Since I’ve been here, because I’m a qualified gardener, I’ve got a City & Guilds, I started off … I did a couple of days in the garden. Then because I was interested in art, Chris suggested I go and try some stuff with Sarah. I went in there and I did a little … More Jake says: “It’s not like I come here, and I’m being punished. I’m coming out and I’m learning something new…”
“I’m the sort of person where if I’m going to work say at six, I’ll start getting anxious about that, even though I know everything I’m doing in that job, and that everybody’s happy with what I’m doing, there’s no problems, I’ll start getting anxious about that about 2.30 in the afternoon, and then there’s … More Reece says: “what I’ve found here, is I’ve found some friendships and I’ve found conversations…”
“I’ve been coming out here for a few months. I was unemployed. I was on the streets. Then I went into jail. Discovered LandWorks and then I made enquiries about it and the prisoners from in the prison said it was rubbish, but I thought I had to go out and try it for myself. … More Terry says: “The best bit of LandWorks would be like they actually took a bit of interest in me…”
“I’ve done lots of catering types of work. Loads of different types of jobs. Never the same type of job, but always usually catering. I’ve done removals. I’ve done factory work, production work, sales, all sorts of jobs. I’ve worked at the local supermarkets, till work, bit of everything really, but mainly catering, mainly kind … More Casper says: “It’s just one day at a time for me.”
“I’ve been giving this a lot of thought because when people are reading the PeN Project, there’s an assumption about people in prison. I’m here to burst that assumption because whoever is reading this, the assumption will be that I’m from a low education background, that I’m from a sink estate somewhere, that I’m on … More Quentin says: “I couldn’t do another year, put it that way. Not a chance. It’s tougher than I thought.”
A window into LandWorks 