The Right Track Walk

On the 21st of September, the Beating Time Team is setting out to walk 100 miles in 5 days, from HMP Birmingham to Stockport to raise money for our post-prison employment programme, Inside Job.

We are walking to support our (soon to be) colleague Jon, who has served his sentence and wants to walk home to show how much he has changed and how long a road it is for most people leaving prison to get back to any form of normality. We will be joined on the way by regional prison officers, Governors and the High Sheriffs of the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Greater London and other people who have supported Jon, Inside Job and our candidates. We want to encourage others to proactively help people who have served a sentence reintegrate into our communities and give back.

In England and Wales around 70,000 people are released from prison year. The majority feel set up to fail. Securing meaningful and sustainable employment is key to helping people create a life they want to live and contribute to society. It also reduces the risk of reoffending by around 50%.

Inside Job, is based on an idea Jon came up with whilst in prison. We find and train people who are serving their own sentences to identify people as they come up to release, who are serious about working and turning their life around. Armed with great candidates, we take good employers into prison to interview them before they leave. The result has been around 200 job starts since we began in earnest in April 2021. We have the opportunity to expand, but need support to do so.

Inside Job empowers the people closest to the problem to be the solution, to help themselves and others. It is scalable. Inside Job currently works in 5 prisons in the Midlands: HMP Birmingham, HMP Brinsford, HMP Hewell, HMP Oakwood, and HMP Swinfen Hall.

The Right Track represents the long and difficult journey most of our candidates face, both practically and emotionally, when they leave prison. We, our employers, candidates and people who work in the Criminal Justice System are walking with Jon to show our resolve to help people leave prison behind them. Please support us.

UPDATE - Our fundraiser has been closed. We want to say a huge THANK YOU to all who have donated and supported us! If you would like to make a further donation, you can do so on our website: www.beatingtime.org

#WalkWithJon #TheRightTrack #InsideJob