From Prison to His Own Flat

Andrew Jackson came to our Derby Project straight out of prison. He has now transitioned to his own flat and we went to visit him.

"I am so happy that you have come round to visit me! I am so glad that I made a lot of good choices whilst I was at Green Pastures. I had a lot of support to enable me to do so. Without Green Pastures I would not have had a clue about how to start again. I arrived at Green Pastures straight from prison and I wondered what was going to become of my life as I am now in my 50's. The support and warmth and the love I received from Green Pastures was absolutely second to none. You've given me the platform to start again. I wanted to make you proud of the way I have succeeded, which is why I am so pleased you've taken the time to visit me. I left prison with just a suitcase of clothes and I never dreamed that I would be able to get back into a normal way of living so quickly, but through Green Pastures and their support I received so much inspiration. All staff were so caring, considerate and inspirational and the meals at Green Pastures were fantastic. I was never hungry. I even put weight on.

I am not a big religious man but I believe he was looking down on me and he has given me a hand, just a little shove. Green Pastures did not force me or any of the other residents to be involved in worship, it was a choice whether to do so or not, but learning about Jesus has opened my eyes to the Christian ethos and I even pray now and I never prayed before. When I pray it is a lovely feeling. I feel uplifted by it. It is a positive thing; very positive.

I love you all to bits and in my estimation you are part of my family for life. You are welcome to visit me anytime. Thank you for enabling me to move on and have such a good level of living after only 6 months out of prison."