I am a Policy Officer at Revolving Doors Agency, a national criminal justice charity.

My Fellowship will focus on trauma- and poverty-informed approaches which divert people who experience multiple disadvantages away from the criminal justice system and into tailored support.

I will use my research in the USA to help reduce the number of people, particularly young adults, currently entering the UK criminal justice system. I'm especially interested in how non-coercive, person-centred and holistic support can help break the cycle of people re-entering the system.

This Fellowship project appeals to me as I have worked in prisons across England and repeatedly witnessed layers of severe trauma, mental ill-health, substance misuse and deprivation mislabelled as a criminal justice issue. Furthermore, the deeper this group is pulled into the system, the more likely they are to reoffend and not receive support for underlying needs.

Ultimately, I want my Fellowship findings to help bring cultural change, develop trauma- and poverty-informed practice, and set a strong example for the UK's approach to the criminal justice system.