Dennis's Story - Clean Sheet
Every person with a criminal conviction has worth, value and is loved by God. But the people Clean Sheet work with don’t always know that. If you're inspired by Dennis's story (below) perhaps you could consider joining their prayer community to help break the chains of shame, addiction, mental health issues, hopelessness, disappointment, fear, and rejection? Click here to find out more.
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Things went wrong for me in 2013.
I was going through a divorce when one of my brothers, who was working in West Africa, contracted malaria and passed away in his early thirties.
I went a little bit off the rails after that to be honest, and that led to my offending and arrest at the back end of 2014.
For me, the worst part about prison was the separation from the rest of the world, and not being able to sort out the mess that I had inflicted on people was really hard. It was infuriating that I couldn’t do anything to start getting my life back on track.
One of the ‘benefits’ of prison was getting the chance to look at where I stood with Christianity. I had been sort of loosely Christian for most of my life, but never really practicing. In prison, I got to go to chapel. I figured it was worth a try, and there wasn’t much else to do. Turning back to God was really powerful to me, and I went to chapel as much as possible. When I got moved to a C Cat prison, the chapel was much more of a community, and I could spend more time there. I ended up get getting confirmed while at the Cat C prison.
About three years after I’d been released, I found Clean Sheet. The emotional support was amazing – just knowing there was someone there who understood what I was going through. The friendly voice and listening ear made such a difference, and I always knew that if I needed anything, Hannah would help me out and would listen, even if she couldn’t fix it.
Practically, I really struggled with the point of disclosure when applying for jobs. Hannah really helped me out with that. It was also a huge morale boost to have Clean Sheet’s Employers Directory. Seeing all those companies who were understanding and supportive, just knowing there were options out there, was huge. The Directory was like a path through the minefield.
Now, I’ve got a great job which has a really positive environment, and I’ve not had that since release. The charity is really good, they praise you, they coach you – I’m happy. Life is good.
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To find out more about how Clean Sheet offer people with convictions support to access sustainable employment visit their website.
