Facing prison, supporting someone inside or preparing for home? Start with what matters to you today.
Phone contact, forms, money, property, learning and work. Find out what to ask, with printable prompts for someone who cannot use the website.
Explore Understanding life inside ↗Find a prison: map and contact details ↗
Find family support organisations ↗ · Help with prison visit costs ↗
Before sentencing: what to take and prepare ↗
Your first few days: reception and induction ↗
Preparing for your first prison visit: save or print a checklist ↗
I’m Colin Pritchard. I built Before the Gate because I know how frightening and confusing the prison journey can feel, for the person going through it and for the family alongside them. I bring my own experience of custody and coming home, together with years of peer mentoring, to help people prepare and find a next step.
In custody, I supported people as a peer mentor, a Samaritans Listener, a Shannon Trust mentor and a buddy coordinator. I learned that being heard matters, and that clear information can make a difficult day feel more manageable.
This site brings together my Before the Gate programme, Coming Home notes, Leaving Prison Wallet of Support and practical workshop exercises. My aim is simple: honest guidance, support without judgement, and room for hope and change.
The guides help you prepare questions and conversations. Individual legal, healthcare and prison arrangements need checking with the appropriate professional. Before the Gate is my independent project.
I’ll listen first. Then we can work out what needs sorting.
When I was mentoring inside, someone could have ten different things going round their head at once. Often, the first useful thing was letting them talk and helping them understand what was happening. That is the approach I bring to Before the Gate.
I’m based in the North West. Sessions can be in person, online or by phone. You can ask about availability and fees by email.
Individual time with the young person and conversations with their family. Each week has a focus, but I’ll listen to what is happening for you rather than just work through a list.
What is going round your head? We start there, then prepare the questions for your legal representative and think through the arrangements for court day.
What happens when I get there? What can I take? How will I contact home? We’ll work through those questions and identify what the specific prison needs to confirm.
There can be fear, guilt, anger and worry on both sides. This week is about how everyone is coping, what the children may need and the pressures on the family outside.
What do you want to do with your time, and what kind of life do you want to come back to? We’ll look at interests, learning, relationships and the people who can help you work towards those goals.
Mentoring and practical preparation support conversations with your solicitor, healthcare team and other services. They do not replace legal advice, counselling or emergency support.
I don’t want to stand at the front reading from slides. I use situations people can recognise, ask what they think and work from their answers. The point is to get people thinking about their own choices, rather than tell them what to say.
For schools, youth services and community groups, the starting question is: what do the people in this room need to understand? Tell me who you work with and what you want to explore, and we can discuss a suitable session.
You can be pleased to be out and still find freedom difficult. This session looks at the things that can catch people out, from changed family routines to not knowing where they will sleep.
Explore the Coming Home workshop ↗A few lines is enough: who the enquiry is for and what you would like to talk about. You do not need to send your life story or detailed case information to get in touch.
hello@beforethegate.co.ukEnquiries are not an urgent help service. For immediate safety concerns, use the urgent help information at the top of this page.
Real preparation. Honest conversations. Something practical to take forward.
I created these resources from my own lived experience and mentoring work. They bring together my Coming Home resources, Leaving Prison Wallet of Support and Healthy Relationships & Communication workshop, with practical guidance and reflection prompts you can use.
Created for Before the Gate. Confirm current local procedures and individual arrangements with the appropriate professional.
Understanding life inside & printable sheets ↗ · Peer mentor starting points ↗
Unfamiliar words should not stop you asking for help.
Short explanations of words you might hear at court, on arrival or when contacting the prison. Each has a source, a related guide and a question you can save for your next conversation.
These are general explanations. Ask the solicitor or prison about the specific case and current local arrangements. If someone is in immediate danger, use the and call the prison now.
You do not have to remember everything on the spot.
Keep questions for prison staff, your solicitor, school or another support service together. Record what you were told and what still needs following up.
These are your own notes. This app does not send questions, contact services or check the accuracy of an answer. Dates do not trigger reminders. For immediate safety concerns, use the and contact the prison directly.
Your questions and answers stay in this browser. Print or download a copy to keep elsewhere. Avoid sensitive details on shared devices; downloads and printed copies contain whatever you have written.
Choose a suggested question, then record the answer after your conversation.
One step is enough for today.
Start with a guide, or pick individual steps. You can remove anything that does not fit.
Steps to take
Steps completed
One concern at a time. Take what helps.
Start with the questions and arrangements that matter most today.
You do not need to sort everything in one sitting.
A short, usable plan for the first week home.
Coming home can bring relief and pressure together. Ask about gaps before release.
Check the arrangements for the specific prison before travelling.
For immediate risk, call the prison’s main switchboard and explain it is an emergency. Ask for the Duty Governor or Orderly Officer.
Find the prison’s safety contacts ↗Developed from Before the Gate’s original programme and resources. Preparation prompts for England and Wales; confirm current procedures with the relevant prison or professional. These guides support conversations and do not replace legal advice, counselling or urgent help. Independent project, with no organisation affiliation implied. Saved guides and checklist progress stay in this browser.