“I come to LandWorks obviously through my probation officer. So, I came out of jail and he asked me if I wanted to go and at the start I was like I don’t really … do you know what I mean? I don’t really like travelling, going places, but he took me out here for … More Benjy says: “It’s like a family thing. It’s good. It’s decent like…”
“This journey at the moment it’s not just about my recovery and with abstinence, but it’s also about my recovery into society to kind of find some faith and confidence in society and a confidence in myself, and that I’m able to do it to become a part of it. Yes, I’ve done a few … More Joshua says: “It’s all being part of an acceptance … me feeling accepted and me accepting other people. It’s a two-way thing”
In prison I kept myself to myself. I just stood back and done my time. I saw it as a golden opportunity. I wanted to go to prison. I got stuck in a rut. I lost my job due to alcohol and drugs. Slowly, accommodation started to grind to a halt […] Where do you … More Eric says: “I used to thrive off the narrow escapes of my own recklessness”
“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…”
I’ve been at LandWorks for about six or seven weeks maybe. Maybe a little bit longer. I’ve lost track because… It’s nice. I got in trouble before, but … I didn’t have to come here. I didn’t have any conditions left. My probation officer said ‘what do you do?’ I said I just potter around … More Johnny Says: “This is awesome. I don’t know why I didn’t get sent here before, because I reckon none of this would’ve happened if I came here earlier…”
“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”
“LandWorks gives me the enthusiasm to change. Otherwise, if I didn’t come here, I’d probably be doing the same stuff I was doing when I wasn’t here. It helps me look at things differently. Certain situations, like instead of getting stressed and getting angry, I can now think of different strategies to get out of … More Rich says:”You don’t need to lie to get far in life. Tell the truth, you get further.”
“It’s quite a weird feeling coming out and just literally being out here. It was quite nice to be able to just… I didn’t find it daunting coming out. It was a little bit exciting at first, if you know what I mean, to be able to come out here… I feel like I get … More Tom says: “you don’t really appreciate things until you haven’t got them…”
“Coming here, you’ve got to want to change. If they don’t want to change, you will change no-one. You can get a 100 people out here on this programme. If they think they’re going to want to get out and get involved in different shenanigans that could lead to this and that, you ain’t going … More Billy says: “Coming here, you’ve got to want to change…”
A window into LandWorks 