Today we had lunch at the Clink Restaurant in Brixton Prison. This restaurant is operated by prisoners with 6-18 months left before they are released. Your food is cooked and you are waited on by people who are in Brixton Prison! We had a 3-course meal that was really fancy, I also had some pretty good limeade! We weren’t allowed to bring in a lot of things including our phones, smart watches, and over £50 cash. We also had to trade in our passports for a visiter’s pass. While we were entering through the main gates into the prison, someone who had just been released was coming out. He even had someone waiting for him on the other side!
Inside of the restaurant, there were some tables for 4 people, and our table, which took up almost the whole center floor space (we needed to fit 17 people). We each had a water glass, a placemat, 3 forks, 2 knives, and a spoon. Upon sitting at the table, I was kind of surprised that our utensils were plastic, but then I realized why shortly after. As a starter, I got a salad which was basically tomatoes with balsamic and a cucumber sorbet on top. The sorbet was very fresh! It was basically cucumber juice and small cubes of cucumber with a little sugar, but it had a really lovely taste. I got ratatouille as my entree. I had never had ratatouille before but I would definitely get it again! As for dessert, I’m not even sure what it was called! It was a stack of filo dough squares with layers of whip cream and raspberries. It also had a small scoop of raspberry sorbet on top of it all. All of the food was really beautiful, and I wish I could have taken pictures of it, but we couldn’t have any electronic devices.
After our meal, we got to talk to some of the people working at Clink. One waiter we talked to said that he liked waiting tables because it gave him a feeling of being back in society for a little while. He also said that someone else working there is getting out soon, and they are going to work in a restaurant and that this is probably due to him being headwaiter at Clink! I think that educational programs and job training programs are necessary for people who are in prison. These programs can help make the transition back into society smoother than if they had not been offered these programs. These programs help give people a chance of actually being able to have a chance of getting a job after being released which might help lower the rate of them getting sent back to the facility. For example, if someone is in prison and they have not gotten their GED, the educational program can help them get their GED, which now gives them the opportunity for a lot more jobs. Also having some work experience is great on resumes and CV’s. At Brixton, there are only a select number of positions available at the restaurant so it can be very competitive for jobs.
I think that these programs are very useful for both the people in prisons as well as employers. It is pretty tough to get a job with a record, but if an applicant has a background in waiting tables because they learned it while in prison, it may be more beneficial for them to hire the person with experience and a criminal record rather than someone who knows nothing about waiting tables. Though these people may have been in prison, the opportunity of job training and educational programs can give them an advantage in society when looking for a job.
Programs like the Clink Charity are worthwhile because it gives those in prison, who haven’t committed a serious crime, an opportunity to get in touch with society before being thrown back in. Many people released from prison end up being homeless because they can not get a job. (Like I said, especially in America, it can be pretty tough getting a job once released from prison.) This can then start a whole cycle of committing crimes in order to stay alive which could very well bring them back to prison. All in all, educational programs as well as job training programs are a necessity to help give some sort of job experience and sense of sanity for prisoners. One of the waiters told us that “normal” prisoners only have 1 hour per day to spend outside, so it is a breath of fresh air for him to be a waiter and hear what people are talking about.
Tomorrow we are seeing a Romeo and Juliet at the Globe Theater!
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