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Serco

In April 2023, we began working with the Serco Justice and Immigration business unit on a project to support the mental health of prisoners. Poor mental health is incredibly common in prison, with nearly half (45%) of prisoners experiencing anxiety or depression and nine out of 10 prisoners having at least one mental health or substance misuse problem.

Understanding that this was a community that needed support with their mental wellbeing, we formed an innovative partnership with the Serco Justice and Immigration business unit to provide our free, 24/7 mental health support on a pilot basis to prisoners at HMP Thameside in London. We’ve since rolled the service out to HMP Doncaster in November 2024 and HMP Fosseway in February 2025.

While listening schemes are already embedded in prisons - such as through support from the Samaritans - it was recognised that there was scope to further complement existing support through digital means, particularly for people under the age of 35 who might feel more comfortable messaging than talking on the phone.

In this report, we delve into some of the key insights we’ve discovered through this project, understanding more about the mental health of prisoners and exploring the ways we can further support them.

Our impact to date

From the conversations taken with prisoners, we’ve seen the following:

  • 67%

    found their conversation with Shout Volunteers helpful

  • 41%

    felt calmer after their conversation

  • 31%

    felt they could work out their problems better after their conversation

"All the time we were talking you made me feel and think, and that’s all good, because I do my utmost not to think or feel about things. Thank you."

Prisoner feedback

As part of our commitment to support people in prison, we also worked with prisoners to create a bespoke coping skills booklet in a graphic novel format, that could be used to help support them to develop healthy coping skills. The booklet was rolled out to in-cell apps in February 2025 to combine educational and skills development in an accessible style.

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