Hello,
“Chris lad, what you don’t understand is, it’s a long, long way from here to there”, Jay 2014.
I (helpfully) got a Bruce Springsteen song stuck in my head… Long Walk Home
Jay was exposing my naive thought, back then, that the journey away from criminal action was just straight forward.
He later explained that our memories of family life had set us out on different routes. Making the following distinction…
“At the age of 6, I doubt your grandmother broke your skull with her clog.”
He reflected on the things that he thought he knew, the people who he thought he knew, and said, “To start that journey, from here to there, it’s like having to find the strength and belief to actually start again.”
It’s gonna be a long walk home
I’m not saying that in general people’s life journeys are not hard, just some are harder than others.
Re-entry back into the community that you were criminally active in is a difficult one.
Even for those who are many years on from prison, life is hard.
It can be hard to remove the prison from the prisoner. To change that mentality.
It’s gonna be a long walk home
Even after a decade from prison it can still be hard. I often see it.
People who have been marginalised by circumstance are often left as a stranger, staring at the town where they were born.
Their moral compass? Yes, often better, but at times still not reliable.
It’s gonna be a long walk home
Last word from Jay (this week), “If you just want to leave all that behind you, it takes time, but you will.”
Jay is now a mental health peer worker.
Chris
19th June 2025