Patrick, a youth offending officer who works within Waltham Forest’s Children’s Services, met Jamal (pictured right) when he was 8, following a serious incident at primary school. He said: “I realised he was the exact same age as my daughter, which highlighted something for me: why was his life so different to her’s? He loved to write, even from a young age. I saw him fill entire books with his writing and I would tell him: ‘There are kids doing brilliantly at school who are nowhere near as bright as you!’ But the circumstances in his life kept him from fulfilling his potential.”
There was a history of domestic violence in the household, much of it directed towards Jamal. After significant behavioural issues at school, he was excluded and sent to a Pupil Reform Unit (PRU) at 14 where he began to flourish.
Jamal explained: “The staff were focused on my individual needs, and they gave me a lot of recognition for my achievements, which was really valuable for someone like me who struggled with my sense of self-worth and self-esteem. They were local and understood the particular issues we were dealing with. They were patient with us and had a sense of humour, even when things weren’t really funny.”
Following his return to mainstream education, and with difficulties at home continuing, Jamal’s behaviour began to disintegrate once again, culminating in frequent arrests and a custodial sentence at the age of 15 for robbery.
Patrick recounts that it was in prison that Jamal began to turn his life around: “He started writing properly. He engaged with the services that were there and started making a real go of it, taking writing and himself seriously, working at it. It was my job to be there, to visit and to encourage him during this period, as ideas started tumbling out him.”
Jamal remembers the day Patrick collected him from prison: “He came to pick me up from prison and drove me back to London. We got into a car crash driving me to my hostel, but he just swapped insurance details, cracked on and drove me there, because he didn’t want to miss the 5pm closing time. I can’t thank him enough for what he did for me, that day and from way back when I was a kid. Buying me new shoes when mine were ripped, buying me food and bringing me back home after I had run away. I felt so supported by him and I knew I could trust him.”
Since leaving prison, Jamal has immersed himself in advisory work, feeding into strategy devised by the Mayor of London and running workshops for young people to help steer them away from criminal activity.
Patrick and Jamal still see each other and keep each other updated, though Patrick’s formal involvement in his life ended a long time ago.
“Jamal did some terrible things, but those things came from a place of trauma, abuse and neglect. Like I said, I met him because he was committing crimes from such a young age, but I was right – he was just a child, a child my daughter’s age. A good lad.”
Learn more about Waltham Forest Youth Offending services here
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