Prisoners serving long sentences at HMP Swaleside have written a guide for others facing many years behind bars.
They call their four-point plan ‘SHIP Shape’. The letters stand for Spirit, Heart, Intellect and Physical health.
The guide now appears on posters, leaflets and pocket-sized cards. These will go out across Swaleside, and the guide may also reach other prisons.
Each of the four areas comes with practical suggestions.
Spirit is about keeping your inner self strong. The guide suggests breathing exercises and setting goals. It also suggests writing down one thing you feel grateful for.
Heart is about keeping connections alive. Readers can phone or write to someone who matters to them, or thank someone. They might also do something kind to lift another person’s day.
Intellect is about keeping the mind sharp. The guide suggests reading a few pages of something new or picking up a new skill. Another tip is to talk with someone who inspires you.
Physical health is about looking after the body. The guide recommends working out and getting outside for fresh air. It also advises a regular routine of going to sleep and waking at the same times each day.
A launch event took place in the prison’s visits hall in November. Four of the men behind the guide spoke there: Ben Walton, Adrian Carpenter, Irek Mydlarz and Myron Hyllam. Each described how he uses the guide in his own life.
The work forms part of Building Futures, a project run by the Prison Reform Trust.
Claudia Vince, the project’s programme director, said: “SHIP Shape is built in the belief that those closest to an issue are best-placed to improve it.”
Myron Hyllam put it this way: “This is a guide on how to navigate through a sentence, hopefully with calm waters.”
Swaleside is a Category B prison for men in the South East. At its last full inspection, in December 2023, inspectors rated all four areas as not sufficiently good: safety, respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release.
