Mentoring for Prisoners and Ex-Offenders

Aim: We are raising money to support the creation of paid mentoring roles for people with experience of custody to mentor their peers.

Arkbound was founded as a social enterprise in 2015 by someone who spent time in prison and to this day we employ people with experience of  custody, recognising that they encounter widespread disadvantages that can hinder rehabilitation.

Since 2018 we have been providing one to one mentoring for aspiring writers from disadvantaged backgrounds, matching them up with experienced authors to develop their writing skills. We are looking to expand this initiative to more people in custody, under our Writing Within Walls project, with the aim of employing mentors who have left prison and/or have experience of substance misuse, so they can more effectively support people from the same backgrounds. We will provide training and placements for these individuals to act as supporting mentors, with provisions to enable remote working so as to comply with COVID restrictions.

The power of literature, journalism and writing to reach people in prison is immense, especially at a time when many other opportunities have been curtailed and there are soaring mental health needs. Through this initiative, we expect to achieve:-

• Better levels of confidence and self-esteem for mentees who are in custody.
• Improved mental health for mentees.
• The direct employment of mentors who have experience of custody and/or substance misuse.
• Sustaining existing employment of people with these backgrounds.
• Through published writing, the dispelling of prejudices and discrimination towards those with these backgrounds, aiding rehabilitation and reducing re-offending.