UK - “Anxiety might not be seen as normal outside. In jail, it’s a normal feeling.”

UK - “Anxiety might not be seen as normal outside. In jail, it’s a normal feeling.” These words from Daniel Rajan Mills in Lost in My Own City: Life after Prison hit hard. Someone is released from prison every ten minutes, yet we rarely talk about what really happens after the gate closes behind them. For many, freedom begins with anxiety, loneliness, and uncertainty. Simple things - walking through a station, buying a phone, or sitting in a café - can feel overwhelming. Add to that homelessness, unemployment, and mistrust of support systems, and “starting over” becomes a daily mental battle. Switchback’s collaboration with Toynbee Hall researcher Rushaa Louise Hamid and their Experts by Experience board reminds us that change doesn’t happen through tick-box rehabilitation. It begins with human connection, treating people not as caseloads, but as individuals with complex stories, emotions, and hopes. Rehabilitation isn’t a conveyor belt, it’s a relationship.