Zoey was a reception orderly in prison, guiding other women through induction. After being given details about coaching to share, she signed up to experience it for herself.
She started out initially with one-to-one sessions. Her coach, Ali, got her to do an exercise called ‘the wheel’, looking at how she felt about each area of her life.
Zoey had a business idea in her head, which Ali encouraged her to get out onto paper and think things through.
“Ali helped me by talking me through the ‘me’ side – I used to always talk about what other people felt or did. I liked the fact that rather than in counselling, where sometimes they tell you what to do, it’s more about me choosing where I am going.”
Zoey came up with a business plan, related to her Open University degree in environmental studies. She wanted to help prisons set up environmental projects. After trying to get things going whilst inside but coming up against lots of barriers, she felt deflated.
By talking it through with Ali, she realised the most important thing was completing her degree and preparing for her release, which wasn’t long in the future.
Coaching helped Zoey navigate some of her challenges on the inside and manage her wellbeing. She’d had a lot of changeover in her probation officers, which was affecting her ability to be granted ROTL.
“It started to get to my heart, I felt really upset by it. Ali was there for me – she gave me space to talk and vent, but always something good came out of it. I’d come away having realised what was making me so frustrated and how I could turn it around.”
Shortly after this, Spark Inside’s group coaching for women was advertised and Zoey decided to sign up.
“I looked forward to it every week. We were all different from each other but we learned and got to know each other on a deeper level. We trusted each other.”
“It was totally different from one-to-one coaching; the group setting meant we covered a whole range of life skills, like self-leadership. It helped me think about how I would tackle certain situations, and how I see myself in the bigger picture of things. That has been really beneficial.”
“You pull things out from other people – hearing others’ perspectives offered me different angles. I feel that has set me up well for when I’m working and around more people. I’ll be more able to understand other’s points of view.”
Zoey is now out, back at home, and continuing her one-to-one coaching with Ali through the gate. She’s figuring out a new career path and taking steps to build back her community.
“Coaching has really helped me think about my relationships, and how to approach things like making new friends and colleagues, and difficult questions like whether to disclose my experiences.
It’s a lifeline being able to talk them through with someone who knew me when I was inside.
It’s prepared me for navigating the transition and all the choices you face in life on the outside. Coaching has been more helpful than anything else preparing for release.”
Zoey’s big dream is to work in conservation, doing rewilding work. She’s focused on completing her degree, doing free online courses on wildlife ecology to deepen her knowledge. Her next goal is to find a volunteering role to get her foot in the door.
“I just want people to know the amount of people Spark Inside have helped for all different reasons. I’m so glad I did the coaching. It’s made me a better person: I understand myself more, and that helps me move on with my life.”
