Inside the Walls: Stories That Asked to Be Heard

After our prison workshops have long finished we can honestly say that what we witnessed inside the walls didn’t stay there. The stories, the patterns, the pain – they became the blueprint for how we build now.

Our youth councils carry that learning forward. They’ve read the book. They’ve annotated the margins. They’ve asked the hard questions about trauma, trust, and what real reintegration looks like. And they’ve helped us design systems that don’t just respond to harm – they prevent it.

From safeguarding rituals to onboarding flows, every element of our youth-led governance is shaped by what we saw in custody. We learned that emotional literacy isn’t optional. That agency must be built into every decision. That systems need to be co-created – not imposed.

The library we built, the books we donated, the pathways we designed, they weren’t just gestures. They were foundations. And now, our youth councils are building on them. With clarity. With conviction. With lived experience at the centre.

This is how change happens. Not in silos. Not in theory. But in the quiet handover between those who’ve lived it and those who are ready to lead.