At Fine Cell Work, we delight in celebrating the people we work with and following their journeys after they complete their programme participation. We recently caught up with Ross, a graduate of our Open The Gate programme for prison leavers. While he did have sewing experience through his time working in textiles, when previously serving a sentence, he says Fine Cell Work was a transformative experience altogether.
The conversation led us to reflecting on his days at Fine Cell Work and learning about his life today!
What did a typical day at Open The Gate involve?
I don’t think it really existed. One day I could have been sewing book covers, the next day I would be downstairs in the warehouse dispatching items to customers.
Not doing the same thing day-in day-out for me, personally, was a good thing. It kept me busy and engaged.
How did Open The Gate encourage your creativity, and what difference did that make to you?
My sewing experience was in manufacturing of clothes, so coming to Fine Cell I was pushed, rather challenged in a good way. I had never done things like putting ruffles on bags or make foot stools.
I was already a confident sewer but being challenged to learn new things and get out of my comfort zone was a good thing for me.
What do you feel you contributed to the Fine Cell Work team when you were with us?
I hope that the advice I was able to give to some of the other apprentices has helped them. I had sewing experience that others didn’t have. I was able to encourage them and give them the confidence to sit behind a sewing machine and not be frightened of it.
What helped you feel like a valuable member of the Fine Cell Work team, and how important was that to building your confidence?
Being in prison for so long, I was very unsure and reserved about entering the programme
Fine Cell Work restored my faith in humanity.
The environment that Fine Cell Work provided was wonderful. There was never any kind of judgement from anyone there. Despite my criminal history I was always treated like a human — something that very rarely happened during my 15 years in prison.
What have you learned about giving something a go that may not have been part of your original plan?
Never say never.
Mistakes happen and you can’t always control what is in the past. During my time in prison, I made it a personal goal to make the best of a bad situation. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d ever learn to sew, but thanks to that here I am. And now look at the doors that it has opened for me and the experiences I have been privileged with. Attending the Chelsea flower show is certainly a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience that I would never have gotten the chance to do if it wasn’t for Fine Cell!
How do you feel Open The Gate has supported you on your journey?
The support from everyone at Fine Cell — whether it was the staff, volunteers or the other apprentices — was amazing. In a short period of time, I went from being as quiet as a church mouse to cracking jokes and having a laugh!
It taught me how to be normal again. Thanks to them I’m a lot more confident in myself which has now led me to have a full-time job.
What is your favourite Fine Cell Work product, and why?
Whilst I enjoyed working on the Chelsea Pensioner items, I think my favourite thing that I worked on was probably the foot stool with the wooden legs. Learning how to make it using the proper tools was challenging yet fun and something I’ll never forget.
What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of joining Open The Gate, particularly those who may not be feeling optimistic about their resettlement?
I would 100% recommend to anyone who considering joining Open The Gate to do it.
Don’t think about it, DO IT!!.
I can’t speak highly enough about the staff and what the organisation stands for. Giving people with a criminal background a second chance at life — there isn’t a lot of places out there that will do that.
Now that you have graduated, what are you up to and what are your plans?
Now that I’ve graduated, I’m working full-time as a bicycle mechanic at XO Bikes. This is something that would have never happened if it wasn’t for my time at Fine Cell. They were the ones that referred me to the mechanic training course.
My plan is to move closer to work in the near future and continue to re-build my life.
To support many other people as they work to rebuild their lives, we are participating in the Big Give Christmas Challenge to raise much needed funds.
Please donate to our campaign and the Big Give will DOUBLE your gift.
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