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Hello, on this Moneybox Live podcast, we're doing something a bit different.

We've been given special access to a centre working with former prisoners,

and we're finding out how money works behind bars,

from so-called bang-up pay to getting a job inside,

and how difficult it can be starting again on release.

I have been going to prison since I was a kid. Back then, you was not getting a job if you'd

been to prison. You get out of jail and you stuck. That was Naomi, who was in and out of prison

for drug offences. We'll hear more from her later in the podcast. We met Naomi at a residential

centre in Preston, run by the charity

recycling lives. It takes a small number of ex-offenders and gives them a place to stay,

training and support getting into work, and its re-offending rate is massively below the national

average. They gave Moneybox Live exclusive access to the centre and it started with a tour from

Matty. He's trying to rebuild his life after spending time in prison for offences that include

shoplifting and burglary.

Right, you love to press that button there.

That one there. So what's this? This is the communal area.

This is the kitchen and the living room. We all sit down and have us tea together at night. Who cooks? We all take turns. Are you a good cook? No. Absolutely useless. There's 10 rooms in all. 10 rooms altogether. So yeah, that's it. I mean, it's a really good setup, isn't it? It's everything you need. It's safe for you. Talk me through what it's like going to prison. You get processed through reception. Then you're going to a first night centre where they decide what wing you're going to go on. You might be on there for a week. It's an induction. You get a loan or a grocery pack, like a 20-pound loan. So you're getting into debt straight away. If you don't have any family and friends, you're knackered because you need money in jail, you do need money. And then you're thinking of other ways to make it. So you're really struggling. And it's hard. It's hard when you first go in there. You know, everything on the canteen's gone up.

You know, and a lot of people get into that in jail through it

because they're borrowing things and they can't pay it back.

That's where the violence comes in.

If you haven't got a job, you're on £2.50 bang up there

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