- Area:
- Wales
- Programme:
- Replication and Innovation
- Release date:
- 28 3 2012
One person who can vouch for the need for and the positive impact of the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) awarded Invisible Walls project is 30 year old Gavin Williams from Blackwood.
Gavin, a former prisoner of Parc, spent 15 years in and out of custody and had a history of substance abuse. In July 2010, he was sentenced to a year in prison for his role in a burglary related crime. His substance misuse had resulted in him having no access to his daughter and the relationship with his family had completely broken down.
After receiving support from the Family Interventions Programme at Parc Prison and support through the original Invisible Walls pilot project funded by BIG, Gavin is clean, has rebuilt bridges with his family and has even set up his own freelance art business.
The talented artist has transformed the visitor areas of the Prison and the Youth Offending Institute at Parc with vibrant, colourful murals – but his story is even more eye-catching.
Amazingly, when he entered Parc, Gavin had never picked up a paintbrush in his life, but when he started to draw for his children as part of the programme, he discovered he had a talent for it.
“They noticed that I had great skills in drawing and they helped me develop my skills by giving me the chance to see if I could do it and supported me all the way,” said Gavin.
“They basically pushed me in the right direction.”
Gavin’s paintings and murals are dotted all over the walls of the prison, including paintings on the walls of the Family Interventions Unit. His paintings have made the children’s play area more inviting and friendly and have helped create a more relaxed culture.
“I’ve also painted drawings on the walls in the room where the dogs and the guards search the families before they come in to the prison,” he says.
“It’s made it more user friendly so it’s less of a daunting and clinical feel for those who are coming in to see loved one’s. It has less of an impact on them.”
The continual support he’s received has helped him reconnect with his family: “I wasn’t in contact with family for years because of substance misuse and I wasn’t allowed to see my daughter,” says Gavin.
“The team at Parc went out of their way to organise visits for me and talked to my family to tell them how well I was doing. They opened up a Family Intervention Unit with a family lounge and the visits were made possible for families to come into a less formal environment to talk to you. They helped loads and they organised loads of different courses and programmes for me and the family. I had ongoing support for my substance misuse problems. One course showed us how what we were doing was having an impact on our families. That was a massive help to me and showed my family that I was trying and I was really serious about changing myself for the future. It really was a life changing experience to go on that course with the family.”
Gavin managed to secure a range of qualifications whilst in Prison, which is something he thought he would never do: “I put my name forward for every course going and completed them all,” he explains.
“I completed GCSE’s in a range of subjects and I did an A level in Fine Art. We opened up a card shop in the unit, where I used my art to make cards. We got qualifications in customer service skills, book management, business management and we looked into things like marketing the business. The qualifications I got out of that was great to help me in what I wanted to do. The courses in the prison are popular and there’s a waiting list because so many people want to get on them. The support is unbelievable.”
The Parc team helped get Gavin involved with the Prince’s Trust when he left the prison, which in turn enabled him to set himself up as a self-employed painter.
“I was up and running as a freelance artist in January this year,” he beams.
“I do loads of things from family portraits to war murals to big projects. I do anything that people want me to draw or paint really. Business has been really good and I’ve had non-stop help from Parc since the day I was released.”
As his business took off, the team at Parc Prison invited him back as an external contractor, to pick up where he left off and transform the family interventions unit and visitor areas.
“It’s mind boggling when I look back at how far I’ve come to be honest with you,” he says.
“If it wasn’t for the support I received, I wouldn’t be talking to you now. I would probably be back in prison. I would never have had the opportunity to do what I’ve done and probably would have been in the same mess as I was in the first place.”
Looking back, Gavin is proud as punch of what he has achieved in such a short space of time and has nothing but praise for the support he received:
“I’m clean, I’ve got my family back and I’ve got my own business, I couldn’t ask for more really,” he says.
“The team at Parc are superb and they deserve all the recognition they can get for the help they give to prisoners. There are lots of people I could mention. I’m glad that Parc Prison has got this money to help more people like me.”
Delighted with the progress Gavin has made, Corin Morgan-Armstrong, Senior Manager at HMP & YOI Parc, said: “When he arrived here the last time, he had spent 15 years in and out of custody and had a history of substance abuse.”
“He took part in our programme and it had a huge effect on him, and during the course of that he not only managed to get drug free, he found that he was a very good painter.
“It started off with small pictures, but expanded into big murals that really brightened up whole areas of the prison – and that discovery gave him an opportunity to break free of his old life. He did everything we asked of him and more besides, he really exceeded all our expectations and we were delighted to employ his talents.”
Corin added: “It goes beyond his business, though. He is now the sole carer for his children and has just turned around every aspect of his life for the better.
“I’ve been here since 1997, and I don’t think I’ve seen a success story that compares to Gavin’s. We’re really pleased for him, he’s the perfect example of what it is we’re trying to achieve here.”
For further information about the BIG Lottery Fund and how you can apply for funding, please visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk and use the ‘Wales’ specific search facility.
Photos of Gavin are available free of charge on request from the Big Lottery Fund Press Office. See contact details below.
Further Information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office – Oswyn Hughes: 02920 678 207
Out of hours contact: 07760 171 431
Public Enquiries Line: 0300 123 0735
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Notes to Editors
- The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 46% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
- BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £27 billion has now been raised and more than 370,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
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