Impact & Learning

Key learnings

• Face-to-face engagement is crucial. Building strong, personal relationships with partner organisations and participants was the most effective way to recruit and retain people. Offering taster sessions to partners helped them understand the benefits and refer suitable participants.
• Building trust unlocks deeper conversations. Once a safe space was established, participants felt comfortable opening up. Challenging questions and allowing conversations to flow freely led to the most meaningful and beneficial sessions.
• A tailored approach to literature works. Using a psychology-informed curriculum to select texts helped create richer, more engaging conversations focused on wellbeing and mental health.
• Recruiting volunteers for this sector is challenging. However, the volunteers who did join were highly skilled and committed, gaining a much deeper understanding of the participants and the criminal justice system.

“I have now got something to look forward to. I’ve learnt how to trust people in the group and that has been a really big thing. I have also got a lot of things off my chest that I haven’t really been able to talk to anyone else about. The group has made me stronger.” – Erin, Reading Rooms Participant

The project had a significant positive impact on participants’ wellbeing. By the end of their involvement, individuals reported feeling more satisfied with their lives, happier and more optimistic about the future.