Power in You Project peer employment program helps prisoners find work after release
A Grovedale man, who has battled substance misuse and spent time incarcerated, is using his lived experience leaving prison to help inmates get back on their feet once released.
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A Grovedale man, who has battled substance misuse and spent time incarcerated, is using his lived experience to help others find their feet and secure a job once released from prison.
Power in You Project (PIYP) senior justice peer Matt Ludbrooke provides weekly peer mentoring to inmates who are within three months of their earliest release at Marngoneet, Karreenga and Barwon prisons.
The now-28-year-old spent three months at Metropolitan Remand Centre in Ravenhall in 2017 for drug trafficking and possession.
Mr Ludbrooke, now in recovery from his substance use issues, said GHB and ice had been his drugs of choice.
Once released from prison, Mr Ludbrooke had an extensive corrections order with a curfew and attempted to get into a rehabilitation facility.
“As I wasn’t using drugs at that time, I was told they wouldn’t help me,” he said.
After a relapse in 2019, Mr Ludbrooke started working with the PIYP, a Geelong-based not-for-profit organisation helping people overcome addiction, mental health, and justice-related challenges, as a client.
Now, he mentors both inmates and formerly incarcerated people.
Mr Ludbrooke has mentored two ex-prisoners into finding jobs in the construction industry.
Mr Ludbrooke said he noticed there “wasn’t much support” when he was released from prison when he was younger.
“Being on remand and released a bit earlier than I probably should have been, there was no plan (for me),” he said.
“If I had had someone to talk to and a mentor, it would have helped a lot.”
Mr Ludbrooke believes he would have benefited by hearing from someone with a positive story before he was released.
“That is why I’m passionate to go back into the prisons, to help to set up the guys with a plan and break down any anxiety around getting released,” he said.
Mr Ludbrooke helps the inmates to write their resumes and practise job interviews as well as working on emotional skills such as resilience and combating resentment, stress and worry.
He said it was important for the inmates to identify why they were incarcerated and what broke down that led to the offending.
“It’s conversations you don’t normally think to have with anyone else but it’s very important, Mr Ludbrooke said.
“The feedback is the blokes are getting a lot out of it, they are talking about it in the yard, they are trying to get others involved, it’s all very positive.”
Mr Ludbrooke said his experience as a client at the PIYP was a “turning point” in his life, which was why he was passionate about giving back to the project.
The program is in partnership with the Department of Justice.
PIYP founder, Kane Nuttall, said the program showed inmates there was hope outside of prison and lives of crime.
“What Matt has been able to do, by connecting with the guys simply because he understands what is like, is really powerful,” Mr Nuttall said.
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Originally published as Power in You Project peer employment program helps prisoners find work after release
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