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Diffusion: using books to make a difference in the lives of prisoners
We caught up with our Commercial Director Alexandra McDonald about the work she does with our Diffusion programme. Diffusion works with prisoners to improve their literacy skills. This helps with self confidence and independence, which are essential when re-integrating into the community upon release from prison.
1. Describe the work you do with Diffusion in two sentences.
I oversee the programme and give direction to the project manager who is in contact with all the various agencies that look to get books into the hands of the people who read them.
2. Why is it important for you to be involved with Diffusion?
I have seen first hand how improving reading confidence improves communication skills, increases confidence and ensures that ex-prisoners are able to secure work and accommodation, which allows them to lead a more normal life like the rest of us and avoid the possibility of reoffending
3. How have you seen the programme make a difference in prisoners’ lives?
Sometimes reading the feedback forms sent to us by people who have read through the books can be quite emotional – there but for the grace of God and some bad decisions could be any of us or at least people we know – being given the opportunity to help a little to improve prisoners’ poor exposure to foundational reading skills, and the world this opens up as a result, whether for simple getting on with life skills or the pleasure of being able to lose oneself in a book, is a privilege to be involved with.
4. How do you see Diffusion evolving in the next few years?
There are so many opportunities for us to expand the programme, to include organisations that work with adult literacy classes, homeless, migrant, refugee and other vulnerable communities - as well as continuing to work until our reading programmes are available in all UK prisons.
5. What advice would you give someone who would like to be involved with Diffusion?
Of course we are always leaving looking for partners who can help us align our books with people to read and learn from them but our main limiting factor at the moment is money - although SPCK back and run the programme, our outreach ability is very much aligned to the value of donations that come in from our very generous benefactors. There is so much more we can do, as and when we have funds to enable us to get the books out there in the hands of people who need and want to read them.
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