78%
of children who grew up without a father
40%
of those who have learning difficulties
30%
have mental health issues
33%
of Key4Life participants had fathers who were in prison while they were children
90%
felt they have no choice other than a life of crime
30%
of prisoners have learning difficulties
PARTICIPANT SUCCESS STORIES
MEET MOHAMED
“Key4Life helped me to pivot into a better life.”
Mohamed, now aged 33, came to the UK aged five with his family who had fled Somalia’s civil war. After losing his father at the age of 10, he grew up on a council estate in West London, where a life of crime and fast money from selling drugs was the norm. He secured a place at a Russell group university, but dropped out before being arrested and sentenced to 4.5 years in prison.
While serving his sentence in HMP Brixton in 2020, Mohamed enrolled on the Key4Life programme. Following his release from prison, he worked with vulnerable people in a trusted position within the adult social care sector. After leaving this job, he struggled to find employment, hampered by his criminal record. Reconnecting with Key4Life, the charity employed him as a Key Mentor and Case Worker before introducing him to a well-respected investment management firm in the City who offered him a six-month placement. He has since joined the company in a permanent role as an investor relations executive in the Real Estate division.
“Coming from my background, it would have been extremely difficult to overcome the stigma of a criminal record and secure my current role in an investment management firm without Key4Life’s support,” Mohamed says. “The job has been life-changing, I am able to take pride in my career and support my family financially without having to risk my freedom by engaging in illegal activities.”
MEET ISAAC
“Key4Life helped me to change my state and calm myself down.”
Isaac grew up in north east London where crime was prevalent. In his teens he got into trouble for fighting, and at 17, influenced by the people around him, he became involved in big robberies and selling drugs. By 28, he had been to prison three times for drug-dealing and violence offences.
Enrolling on the Key4Life programme following his third prison sentence in 2017, he found the NLP and Emotional Release work helpful for curbing his anger. “They helped change my state and calm me down,” he says.
Introduced by Key4Life, Isaac worked at the Soanes Kitchen restaurant in Ealing before studying Media & Communications at University of West London. In 2020, he set up his own production company, Cultivated Productions, which makes films/videos for companies, sports organisations (including West Ham FC), music artists and other projects. In addition, he hosts/produces the Fly on the Wall Perspective current affairs podcast, plays and coaches football professionally, and is creating a promising music career as the rapper, B. Yaks.
MEET RENARDO
Renardo grew up an exceptional football player, playing for Wolves and West Brom youth teams. Yet developing anger problems, he was sent to prison at 17, and soon after lost two friends to knife crime. Completing our first ever Key4Life programme in 2012, Renardo developed a passion for making and performing rap music. He worked for Key4Life for several years as a Key Mentor, case worker and facilitator of our music workshops, teaching young men the power of lyrics for transmitting a positive message.
He recently moved to Manchester where he works for a recruitment agency, heading up a team which supports ex-offenders and others facing barriers into employment. He continues to support our programmes at HMP Forest Bank in Manchester.
MEET BRAD
“Key4Life pulled me out of a dark hole and put me on the ladder to making my life great again”
Aged 21, Brad was born into a broken home, and went to live in care and foster homes from the age of five until 12, where he endured various forms of abuse. Getting into trouble in his teens, he was kicked out of all the local schools, and fell into drugs, fighting and petty crimes, his behaviour exacerbated by growing mental health problems. In 2020, he was taken to court for assaulting a police officer and he decided to deal with the pain that was causing his behaviour.
Enrolling on our At Risk programme in 2021, Brad then found work as a self-employed bricklayer’s labourer for Persimmon Homes (while training to be a fully qualified bricklayer), and has a weekend job helping out on a caravan park. “Before meeting Key4Life I was in a dark place,” Brad says. “My life was going nowhere – same old circles and dead ends. Key4Life has worked miracles – they pulled me out of a dark hole and put me on the ladder to making my life great again. My relationships are better, I’m surrounded by better people and life’s amazing.