Tag: Inside Change

meet harrison, an inside change participant

inside change drama script

meet harrison, an inside change participant

Inside Change is our creative project that upskills prisoners about personal finances through radio drama.

In December 2022, a group of prisoners worked with our professional drama and recording artists James Baldwin and Tony Russell to write, perform and record a radio play themed around finance. This enabled them to develop their understanding of topics such as budgeting, debit cards, APR and money choices, helping them transition back into the community on release with new skills and improved self-esteem.

We spoke to Harrison about his experiences on the project.

“My name is Harrison, I’m 32 and I’m an inmate. I’ve got a 15-year sentence, with five-and-a-half years left, so I’ll be released in June 2028.

“This week we’ve been doing a money management course called Inside Change in which we made a radio play. I played a character called Dean and I really enjoyed it.

“It was good to work in a group and as a team. I’ve never done anything like this before, but a few of the lads on the wing had done [the project] the week before and told us it was a decent course, so I jumped on it.

“At first I wondered, ‘what have I signed up to?’ It involved a lot of speaking in front of an audience, but as I got into the project I really enjoyed it and I’m glad I did it. I’ve learnt a few things about banking, and I’ve also had experience in public speaking. I think that’s important because in the future, it will help with speaking in front of people in a meeting, so it’s really helped.

“I’VE COME AWAY WITH KNOWLEDGE THAT WILL HELP ME IN THE FUTURE”

“I really enjoyed working with the artists, James and Tony. They guided us and worked really well with us. It was good working in a group with the other lads too, we had a good laugh.

“This project has definitely been one of the more productive things I’ve done since I’ve been in jail. Some of the courses you go on are pointless, but I feel like I’ve come away from this with actual knowledge that will help me in the future. The business pitching exercise was good practice for anything I want to do in the future.

“The project has taught me that I should believe in myself and put myself out there more.”

This project was funded by Santander UK Foundation Limited.

inside change drama script

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Meet matt, a prisoner and create participant

Meet matt, a prisoner and create participant

creative writing post its

Inside Change is our project that enables prisoners to explore financial literacy through radio drama.

In September 2022, a group of prisoners worked with our professional drama and recording artists James and Tony to write, perform and record a radio play. Centred on personal finance issues, this enabled them to develop their financial capability in areas such as budgeting, debit, APR and money choices. The project has been designed to support a smoother transition back into the community on release, with new literacy, finance and social skills, and improved self-esteem.

We spoke to Matt (23) about his experiences on the project.

“I’ve done nothing like this before at all. We’ve learnt lots of things about money management, such as mortgages. We’ve learnt how to handle debt, build credit and move forward in the future with money.

“I signed up because I thought it would be interesting to try something different, like with the radio stuff, and learn something new. It’s been a good laugh. I feel comfortable, I feel like I’ve learnt a lot of things, met some good people.

“It’s taught me how to build credit and certain mortgage options you can take out, and basically helping me move forward with future decisions because I’m still quite young. I can put forward what I’ve learnt to other people who have the same worries as I did before starting the project.

“It was really good working with James. He’s good energy, very positive and he listened to everyone who speaks to him. It was good working with the group. I’ll speak to them more often now than I did originally.

“It’s just been fun to be honest with you. It’s been really, really good, I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve also learnt that I’m terrible at doing a Philip Schofield accent!

“Doing something creative is important because it takes you out of prison and makes you feel like you’re not in prison for the time you’re here.”

Inside Change at this prison was funded by The Boris Karloff Charitable Foundation and Santander UK Foundation Limited.