Dalton’s Story

Sometimes, our service users can tell their story far better than we can.

Here’s Dalton’s story.

“On leaving prison, I was moved to an area I didn't know. I felt like my sentence had started again, back to the beginning. I had lost everything. I wanted to work. But I didn't know how to even start. I had worked before in the security industry and care work. But now I was seen as High risk. Someone who had committed ABH. It felt like my opportunities were so limited. Yet when I began to apply for jobs and higher education and try to move forward, I was pushed further back into the margins. I was so isolated, living in a tiny bedsit no bigger than a cell. Even the prison showers were bigger. I began to suffer more from mental health, and I thought, ‘how can I do two years in prison and this break me?’

I had heard about Tempus Novo but wasn't sure if they could help me. I was a transgender man coming out of a female prison, then a female hostel and no agencies seemed to be able to support me. I seem to have fallen between the cracks. Being transgender doesn't mean that's all I am. I still need to eat, live, work, and provide for my family.

When I went to the office in Armley, I was nervous and didn't expect much. But when I left, I felt like there was a chance, a hope, and a reason to keep trying. Kath, my caseworker, was brilliant. I had yet to be diagnosed with dyslexia and dyspraxia but when she saw me struggling, we went through forms together and I felt more confident. We had phone calls and she actually listened to what I wanted and said I needed. One day she rang me about a possible job opportunity and I jumped at the chance. We went through the application, and she supported me at every step. I have trouble with my sense of direction, and she even drove us to the interview and went in with me. Afterwards, she said how well I had done and she had never had to sit in with someone and not do any talking. I felt like the old me was coming back. The person who had rights, the person who was seen as human. I had lost my way before prison and suddenly I was looking in the mirror at myself. A new work uniform. A new start. Fresh hope and a job. A second chance.

Since then I keep going, I still work with kath and check in. She has offered me one-off job opportunities for extra money for agencies who request them. This supports me with the cost of living as I am now a student of Criminal Justice and Criminology at University. I am still working for the same job I started with on a part-time basis.

For anyone looking into life after prison, for me this is what it means to be given a chance. This is what it means to be given hope, and this is what happens when you are not just seen as a problem. We need more case workers like Kath and we need more companies like Tempus Novo.”