Ex-prisoner turns life around with art
AFORMER prisoner who turned her life around through her award-winning art is drawing on her experiences to help other offenders
Cathy Roberts, 47, from Macclesfield town centre, has become a probation volunteer just three years after being jailed for arson and has been hailed ‘one of probation’s true success stories’.
She began painting and writing poetry to help ‘channel her emotions’, while serving time at HMP Styal, from where she was released last August. She has had her work featured in exhibitions at London’s Southbank Centre and Manchester’s Castlefield Gallery after submitting it to the Koestler Trust, a charity which exhibits offenders’ artwork.
Cathy, who is in recov- ery from drugs and alcohol after struggling with depression and anxiety since she was young, said: “I am passionate about helping people and I’ve been through a great deal.
“I hope the experiences I have can be used to support others.
“I’ve always lacked con- fidence. My family told me I wouldn’t ever amount to much because of my mental health problems and I was terribly nervous about applying for a position.
“I cried with happiness when I found out my application had been successful because I never thought I’d end up volunteering with probation.”
Cathy’s role with the Cheshire and Greater Manchester Community Rehabilitation Company will involve meeting offenders and supporting the induction process.
Andrea McGillivray, senior probation officer, who supervised Cathy during her sentence, said: “I’d love for her to eventu- ally provide peer mentor support to women offenders. I know she’ll be superb at relating to them and she is also an excellent role model of what probation can achieve.
“I am delighted for her and think she can bring an awful lot to the service.”
Cathy set fire to her house when she was deeply depressed, dependent on drugs and self-harming.
She said: “There’ve been many times during my recovery when it would have been easier for me to pick up drink or diazepam.
“Also, by cutting out drugs I had to cut out a lot of my old friends. But I’ve been clean now for two years.
“It’s still a struggle, but with support from probation and by concentrating on things like art and poetry I have been able to keep at it.
“If I can help others, I’d be very proud.”