"The stress of having a family member in prison was one of the biggest challenges of my life. There was so little we could do, and the system is like a black hole. Once the prisoner goes in, you hardly hear anything. In our case, even the lawyer, the one voice we desperately needed to hear from, was often in the dark.

In my view, it’s hugely important that people know what the Howard League for Penal Reform do. It’s vital because their work helps people like my relative. They are working for fewer people in prison, they are working to transform the underlying causes of crime. In my opinion, this is the key: transforming lives and re-educating people to understand themselves better, so that they don’t re-offend, so that they can see the error of their ways and the reason why they ended up in prison.

I’m proud that the Howard League is changing things - that it is transforming a system that is in danger of collapsing once and for all. Someone needs to do it and that is why it’s crucial to support their work."

Hana Esselink

Howard League member