“I left in 2023. I think I left a week before I joined my work… almost two years, yeah. It was two years; I think it was. I think it was after Covid. I didn’t do many days here to start with. Obviously after a couple of weeks here I did five days a week. … More Dave says: “…it has actually helped to change my mindset because before this I never worked”
“I got in trouble in London. I got stitched up in London. I fell in with bad people mostly and although I didn’t say I did it, the police decided to arrest me and charge me, and then took me to court and then them not letting me back to the house, they said you … More Casper (2) says: “LandWorks… It’s a good choice really coz they understand my needs. They understand what I’ve been through…”
“I’m here because when I got out of prison and I was at probation, I was asking if they can help me find some voluntary work and I presumed that because they deal with a lot of people that get hours to go places from probation that they’d know like lots of voluntary places that … More Patrick says: “I like the routine, the structure, having a purpose in life. I love what I’m doing here with the woodwork…”
“I was going downhill. I’d just come out of prison, and I was sort of going downhill taking drugs and alcohol again, and then someone said would you like to work at LandWorks? I goes yeah, I’ll give it a go like, see what the buzz is about … started coming here and I enjoyed … More Clive says: “If I weren’t ‘ere, I would probably be dead by now … Coming here has changed my life”
The first time I came to have a look around and meeting everyone and seeing everything, I just instantly was like this is what I want to do. Like I instantly knew. I just feel safe here and I find it hard to trust people, especially people like in authority or whatever, but I instantly … More Deer says: “seeing that a lot of people who work here used to be like us, it’s a symbol of hope…”
“I was talking to my probation officer one day and I weren’t in the best of moods. He was asking me about what’s the matter and stuff like that, so I explained to him I’m just bored all the time and I just had too much time on my hands because I just didn’t do … More KJ says: “It always makes me really happy when everyone likes the food…”
Like I say, the LandWorks part helped me out tremendously really. It got me out of the prison every day, well, except obviously Saturdays and Sundays and they just used to let me get on with whatever I wanted to do, which was my bowls and things. The bowl-turning, yeah. Graham taught me how to … More Bob says: “All of this is down to LandWorks really. They set me on the path […] I do actually enjoy what I’m doing now”
This is a section from a transcript of a focus group carried out during the Inside Knowledge module run by the University of Plymouth at LandWorks in March 2024… Julie – What do you think are the key benefits of the enterprises at LandWorks? John – Oh, the list is so long … building self-worth, … More John says: “…as much as they might be learning from you, you’re learning from people all the time, you’re receiving it back…”
“…my probation officer, she was asking me to start coming for like a good six to eight months before I actually did, yeah, because I never used to really go out anywhere or do anything and I didn’t like going anywhere, so yeah, she kept saying that I’d really enjoy it and it would be … More Amelia says: “It’s given me routine, structure, discipline and like friends…”
“I’ve done quite a lot of stuff here like. It made me feel a lot more like … it changed my way of life … there’s more to life and that. It makes you feel more like part of the community and makes me want to be able to do something with my life. Before … More JimBob says: ”this place taught me to be truthful and to say how it is…”
A window into LandWorks 