Case Study

Rehabilitation help all adds up for Nathan

1 Jul. 2026

In and out of prison since his teens, 28 year-old Nathan felt trapped in a cycle of criminality. Scared to be released into a world he was ill equipped to succeed in, he was ‘fed up of failing’. With help from a range of partners, he’s faced his addictions head on and is learning new life skills to free him from a past overshadowed by violence, drugs and debt.  

One of those vital new skills is money management, supported by the Ingeus Finance, Benefit and Debt team. Helping people on probation access benefits, open bank accounts, manage debt, and learn budgeting skills, they’re a vital link in reducing reoffending. The service is delivered by Ingeus Justice as part of the Ministry of Justice’s Commissioned Rehabilitative Services.   

“I first went to a secure unit when I was 15,” explains Nathan, who was placed into care in his early teens. “Coming out, I had no skills to look after myself. I was helped with housing but didn’t know how to manage bills and payments. I couldn’t deal with life on the outside. I got deeper into drugs and had multiple returns to prison. I accumulated more and more debt and felt totally overwhelmed trying to sort it all out. I just gave up.” 

The death of a friend finally gave Nathan the impetus to seek help. He attended rehab and fully engaged with his probation officer, who referred him to Ingeus. He now works voluntarily in a Burton tea room run by people in abstinent recovery and freely shares his experiences via charities working alongside police in prisons and colleges. He has also reconnected with his family after several years. Getting his finances in shape was an important part of his rehabilitation journey. 

“I feel so relieved, and much more informed about money,” adds Nathan, who was provided with a food voucher, and supported to access health benefits and pay off debts by his Ingeus advisor. “I’ve had help to set up benefits and budgeting plans and learnt how to check my credit score. I’m much more in control of it all now with someone friendly to finally help me. I can focus on my recovery and next steps better without it overwhelming me so much.” 

Nathan also attends the Ingeus Activity Hub in Birmingham – a community space for people on probation to access help and support. He now has a CV and disclosure letter to approach prospective employers and is hopeful of starting a personal training or peer mentoring course to ultimately work in the justice sector. 

He concludes: “Leaving prison, I knew I had to do something different this time. I could look back on a year of excuses or a year of progress – I know which I prefer.”