Ex-offenders, especially young adults, often lack basic life skills such as cooking and budgeting.
They may also have problems with reading and writing. On top of this, many prisoners have nowhere to go when they are released, so reintegration is very difficult for them.
Peter* and Ollie* are ex-offenders who live in a scheme we support. They took part in a cooking challenge to make a meal on a budget, and write up the recipe. They decided to make a lasagna, and worked with each other to create a shopping list, find ingredients, and prepare the food. While it was cooking, they wrote up the recipe together.
Tasks that might seem very straightforward to us were new to them. In the process, Peter was able to open up to Ollie and to staff about his dyslexia, and the fact that he had always been too embarrassed to ask for help. Ollie, who himself has ADHD, was very supportive of him.
In one cooking lesson they learned new life skills, gained support with their learning difficulties, and developed their friendship.
