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The Soho House Foundation is an independent charitable entity set up to fund and empower creatives worldwide. Through an annual donation, they provide grants for organisations doing brilliant work to help young people in their local community through the arts. The Prison Radio Association is delighted to announce that we’ve recently received one of these grants to fund our Talent Development Programme.
It was reported this year that fewer than 1 in 10 UK artists have a working class background. The Soho House Foundation exists to provide resources to fund and empower creatives from underrepresented and lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
They are passionate about using the knowledge and network they’ve built to open doors in the industry for people who are otherwise shut out.
People in prison make up one of the most marginalised and disadvantaged demographics in our society; 47% have no qualifications, 29% faced abuse as children and 34% have attempted suicide. Statistically, only 19% of prison leavers find work within six weeks of release.
As a charity, the Prison Radio Association is dedicated to using the power of radio and podcasts to connect people who have experience of being in prison, to education, community, and a sense of belonging.
From our radio studios behind the walls of HMP Brixton in London and HMP Styal in Cheshire, we broadcast National Prison Radio – the world’s first national radio station for people in prison, founded in 2009. The content is produced and presented by serving prisoners who are trained and mentored by our team of professional radio producers. This makes National Prison Radio a by prisoner, for prisoner service.
In 2023, we launched our first ever post-release offer for talented radio producers leaving prison. This allowed us to continue mentoring, training and working alongside people who had been part of the National Prison Radio programme at HMP Brixton. This programme gives individuals the opportunity to gain paid work with our organisation while learning about new areas of production and exploring pathways into further training and employment opportunities within the sector.
Through our Talent Development programme we hope to empower creatives from one of the most marginalised demographics in our society – those with experience of the criminal justice system – offering further professional development opportunities and pathways into paid employment in the creative sector.
While working on the placements, individuals are offered one-to-one mentoring, support to build audio portfolios, and we utilise our networks and connections to build pathways into further opportunities in the sector. For example, with partners including BBC 1xtra, Reform Radio and Cool FM.
The first year was hugely successful – of the prison leavers we worked with 100% said the programme had helped to further develop their radio and production skills and their confidence/self-esteem and 100% said that they had found further employment and education opportunities as a result of our talent development programme.
With The Soho House Foundation’s support we can now build on this development programme. This grant ensures that our trainee producers can gain paid work on release from prison while continuing to build up their skill sets via training (both internal and external) and make connections in the industry.
Through this work, we can show prison leavers that being a successful creative is a viable life choice; offering a creative, empowering alternative to custody.
Evie Dickinson, Head of Fundraising and Communications of the Prison Radio Association, said of the partnership:
“We are really excited to be working alongside The Soho House Foundation to offer continued professional development opportunities and pathways into paid employment for talented radio producers leaving prison. Through this partnership, we have the opportunity to supercharge our first ever post-release offer; increasing access to the arts and creative industries for people who had been part of the National Prison Radio programme at HMP Brixton. It is so great to be working with a Foundation that clearly and loudly shares our commitment to providing opportunity to underrepresented groups in the creative industries. We look forward to achieving big things together over the next 12 months.“
Through our work with the Soho House Foundation we are bringing unheard stories and narratives to the fore every single day while helping people to see and hear the world differently.
We’ve recently launched our brand-new podcast Outside In that is produced and presented entirely by people who learnt their craft while working at National Prison Radio during their sentence. You can listen to this here.
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Learn more about how we’re taking part in this years Big Give Christmas Challenge.
The Prison Radio Association is a registered charity. We work with men at HMP Brixton and women at HMPYOI Styal to create award-winning, rehabilitative radio, while supporting them to build confidence, skills and networks that can pave pathways into better futures beyond bars. If you would like to support our work, and enhance the futures of people in prison across the UK you can make a donation at prison.radio/donate.