Rebuilding Life After Prison: A mentor

Having been convicted for trafficking, CJ served her sentence in Japan and the UK. Studying a law degree through the Open University, CJ now works for SOS, part of the St. Giles Trust, a charity working to break the cycle of reoffending. While still in prison, the Longford Trust matched CJ with Jessica Jones, a barrister working in human rights law. She is CJ’s career mentor.

Rachel O’Brien sat down with CJ and Jessica to talk about their relationship, and what they’ve learned from each other.

“The biggest problem for prisoners is this glass ceiling above us. To have a relationship that totally smashes that… You just pushed me through it all the time, saying ‘yes, you can do that.’” – CJ, on her career mentor Jessica