Daniel
Daniel* is 23 years old and was sentenced in 2014 to 5 years imprisonment for robbery and possession of a weapon. He had experienced a very volatile childhood and was adopted at the age of 8 years old. When Daniel turned 17, his adoptive mother died suddenly and Daniel was unable to cope with the pain. He turned to drugs and alcohol to block out his feelings and developed a chronic addiction.
Daniel’s addiction led to him stealing from and abusing people, emotionally as well as physically over a number of years. By the time he came to prison he was carrying vast amounts of guilt and shame and believed that there was no positive future ahead for him. Whilst in prison, Daniel contemplated taking his own life.
Daniel had heard about the Khulisa Programme through a fellow inmate who suggested he might benefit from the programme. During the pre-programme assessment, it became clear that Daniel was very depressed and unable even to make eye contact. He had been let down by a series of people in his life and found it difficult to trust others.
Daniel describes his experience of the Khulisa programme:
"The Khulisa programme really helped me to regain my confidence. I like the feeling in the group room that the facilitators created where we were able to discuss topics without judgement or criticism. It was so nice to be accepted by the other participants and for them to value me and listen to my views. I realised that the behaviour that led me coming into prison wasn't really the ‘true me’. The real me is a decent, caring man and the facilitators saw my potential which allowed me to see it in myself. The Khulisa course gave me back the voice that I had lost and never thought I would find again"
Daniel's support workers identified the following benefits in him taking part in the Khulisa programme:
- An increase in confidence and self esteem - which led to him applying for jobs within the prison and obtaining a trusted role working on the wings.
- An increase in motivation - since completing the Programme Daniel has been attending the prison gym. Prior to this he had found it impossible to get the motivation to do any exercise.
- More able to identify goals for the future - Daniel was able to work through how he would like his life to be in the future and set realistic goals to obtain this.
- Improved ability to identify triggers and manage emotions - after the programme, Daniel was able to deal with conflict situations in a more positive way by thinking about the impact of his actions in relation to his goals
*Participant names and images have been changed to protect privacy