September 2021 - The Prison Phoenix Trust

Long Road to London

Mike writes about his long-distance run for the love of prisoners of anything in life that takes away our peace and for the great love-centred work of the Prison Phoenix Trust.

I left prison in 2018 after serving a total of three years and four months for financial related crimes. When I arrived home, whilst delighted to be out, there were many problems. My mother-in-law had moved in and her dementia had unfortunately advanced. I returned to a small island community where I was labelled by many as a criminal. I struggled to find meaningful work. My family had been scattered. The parole people were administrative – their principle concern was to restrict my travel and the places I could stay. It was a becoming a nightmare and I was trapped.

Yoga returns to support wellbeing in prisons, as Covid challenges continue

Yoga classes helping to reduce the time prisoners spend behind their cell doors

Across British and Irish prisons, Covid restrictions are still having a big impact on life inside, with prisons cautiously relaxing regimes and almost all still operating some kind of ‘lockdown’.

The Prison Phoenix Trust is playing a part in helping to get prisoners out of their cells with the resumption of yoga and meditation classes. In the last month, numbers of class have grown by 32%.