Aged five, Adrian and his family moved to the US to escape domestic violence. This situation recurred, and Adrian was drawn into a life of crime. He was deported to the UK, 36 years after he had left.

Basically, I came back to the UK destitute, nothing no family no friends no relative, nobody, I knew no one, by the time I had finally left immigration detention I had 54 dollars that converted into about £29 pounds at the time. My memories of being a prisoner in the US are basically a constant state of anxiety, a constant state of being anxious, ready to defend.

They sorted out a decent accommodation for me, where I was able to sleep comfortably, for the first time in I don’t know how many years, it was incredible. And from there they provided me with the little bits and pieces, to help me get myself together, I came here with one set of clothing so they provided me with underwear, toiletries, and clothing, and a rucksack and things like that to begin my process of being a free person, basically. And that meant I owned my own stuff, and it wasn’t a prison issuing it.

To be received so well by this organisation sort of laid the foundation for how I would interact with the rest of the world from this point forward, so that lesson of being treated nice and being treated well, with such a good attitude, it reinforced my own philosophy and allowed me to move myself forward. In that for the most part, most of the people I interact with, that’s my goal, is to treat people nicely, and hopefully with the ambition that they too will treat someone else nicely, and then the cycle begins.

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Preventing homelessness is crucial.

Prisoners Abroad supports people who return back to the UK after prison; we find them somewhere to stay, provide grants for food and travel, and help them take the vital steps to a new life.

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