Case Study

A clean slate for Dayle

13 Jul 2023

He’d never been in trouble before, but after falling foul of the law and spending 11 weeks in custody, Dayle was feeling hopeless. How could he piece his life back together and reintegrate back into society? 
Dayle took his first step towards a better future – and a new job – when he was referred to Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS), delivered by Ingeus. 

Under the programme, people on probation are given tailored support to change their lives for the better and reduce their risk of reoffending. Advice is offered on everything from accommodation, personal wellbeing and finances, to managing substance addiction and improving access to employment or training opportunities.

Dayle was referred to the Education, Training and Employment team in Derbyshire and was given support to improve his employability skills. “They started giving me some hope, some belief,” says Dayle. “I thought, actually, there is a way I can get back to feeling like a valued member of society.”
 
After building his confidence, Dayle attended Ingeus’s peer mentor training academy and began working as a volunteer, giving advice and support to other service users. When a job vacancy arose for a personal wellbeing mentor, Dayle grabbed it with both hands. Ingeus recognises the value of lived experience, and how people who have been through the justice system are best equipped to empathise with and support others. Now, as a personal wellbeing mentor, Dayle is helping other people on probation to turn their lives around.

Personal wellbeing advisor Parm Rai says: “If there’s any intervention, in the community itself, then we’ll assign that client to Dayle and he can actually attend appointments with people.” He adds that peer mentors like Dayle can build a rapport with service users more quickly. “It’s almost like it’s giving people hope that there is a positive future, to someone that’s had a negative background.” 

Dayle, who previously worked in retail management, is now enjoying making a positive difference to people’s lives. “It feels good that I get the opportunity to help people,” he says. “I’ve been through something similar, like when you first get to prison, the initial [being frightened] and when you first come out you’ve got no one beside yourself.”

Knowing how valuable the help from Ingeus has been for him personally, Dayle is keen to ensure others reap the benefits from CRS too. He adds: “I promote it, I’m an advocate for it, and I try to steer them in the right direction.” 

Watch Dayle's story