Cold in Your Bones

08/02/24 • 24 min

Nick worked in the library at HMP Wandsworth when Chris was banged up there in 2016. They didn't stay in touch, but a few years later Nick heard this podcast and got in contact. In this touching interview, Nick reveals the challenges he faced after his release and how the benefits system is rigged against prisoners and he was left to sleep on the streets in the winter months. He admits that being homeless led him to reoffend, and why a lack of housing is a key reason so many ex prisoners soon return to jail.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Sing When You're Winning

When Chris was in HMP Wandsworth he joined MJ's Liberty Choir, which he called "Spinsters and Spiceheads" as it was made up of volunteer women of a certain age and some of the prison's more colourful drug addicts. Eight years on, Chris goes back to rehearse with the choir once again, to learn about the amazing work they do in rehabilitating offenders and showing that there are real people stuck inside the prison walls. Get ready to sing along....

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Next Episode

Ladies' Night

Most of the other episodes are about men, so to find out more about the experiences of women in the system Chris meets Jules, a young woman who went to prison for GBH aged just 20. She got a five year sentence, the same as Chris, and they discuss the intriguing similarities and differences between male and female prisons, from accessing make up to navigating the politics of wing romances. Jules worked hard on herself inside and emerged a better person and a trained personal instructor. But women face additional problems inside, and they talk about the pain of female prisoners having pregnancies in jail who risk losing access to their children.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.