Volunteering in prison, it's a bit different

Volunteering in a prison is unique, and so worthwhile. Our Communications Lead, Hannah, writes about why we invite volunteers to join us inside – and the impact this has on our participants, volunteers, and society.

When you think of a corporate volunteering day, you probably think of something along the lines of tree planting, painting a community centre, or mentoring a young person. You probably don’t think of going into one of London’s prisons to help someone to write a CV, practice their interview skills, or celebrate their achievements as they graduate from a rehabilitative programme. It's also not straightforward; it involves ID checks, security briefings, and property searches. It’s safe to say, a StandOut volunteering session is unlike any other you’ll come across.

And so, why do we do it? At the most basic level our CV, mock interview, and graduation sessions are the busiest – and our coaches need more people in the coaching room to ensure that everyone gets the one-to-one support they need. Support that our volunteers ably provide. But on a deeper level, the reasons we invite volunteers to join us are twofold; one relating to the impact on our participants (the people we work with in prison) and the other relating to the effect of our volunteers themselves, and on society more widely.

Imagine you’re in prison, in an environment where you’re constantly being reminded of your mistakes and where it can feel as if everyone is against you. Imagine the sense of isolation from the rest of the world and the trepidation you feel at the prospect of having to rebuild a life within it. Now imagine that one day, you’re joined in the classroom by friendly volunteers who have given up their time to come into prison to support you – people who are really rooting for you to succeed. I’ve dug out a quote from a participant, who described the effect of volunteers on people in prison beautifully:

“Graduation day was amazing; it was really nice to see how many people outside of just that small classroom we were in actually had a vested interest in our succeeding and in gaining employment.”

Just think about the sense of connectedness that would bring, the boost in self-esteem it would create, and the confidence and trust you would begin to have in others.

But the benefits of volunteering are never solely on the participants; volunteers get a lot out of the experience too. We’re being joined in prison by a growing number of Ministry of Justice employees – many of them working on criminal justice policy and looking for a prison visit that gives them an insight into the perspectives and experiences of the people that live there. This is fantastic, and something we are really proud to support.

Nelena is one of our regular volunteers. She works for PA Consulting, but she used to be a police officer. She put the potential wider impact of volunteering really well when she said:

“If you have such an important role in a person’s first part of their journey in the criminal justice system, then you should understand the latter part of it. If I had had this experience, I would have been a better police officer.”

You can see how the influence extends beyond the volunteer. After our sessions, our volunteers also go back to the office to chat with colleagues about their experiences; post their reflections on LinkedIn for their networks to see; and speak about what they’ve seen with family and friends.

At StandOut, we believe our prisons are our prisons – all of ours. Each of us has a vested interest in prisons and the people who reside in them. After all, most people will be released, and some of them will become our neighbours. And so, it’s important that we get the word out – about the issues in our criminal justice system and the crisis in our prisons, but also about the many people in prison who, yes, have made mistakes but who are working hard to turn their lives around.

Think you’d like to support someone to prepare for life after prison? Get in touch.