ISSUE NO. 12
July 2025
Donate Here

Letters

Lit a Light of Hope

By
Zayne

Zayne writes from Metropolitan Remand Centre in Victoria.

Willy Pleasance

Greetings, prison newspaper.

I am writing to you from the Metropolitan Remand Centre just after lock in at approximately 5pm.

I read your paper the night previous, and a part of me that previously was dead or dying suddenly felt alive and connected to others with similar struggles and trauma.

I am 28 years old and come from a single mother with three other step siblings. My mum had me at 21 and at an early age, I was given a Criminal Reference Number. I have spent two years out of prison since the age of 19, roughly 8 years. I feel like there is no future for me until I read an article in your paper about post release stress disorder that lit a light of hope in myself that previously no one else could. I have been incarcerated for two weeks now, and awaiting sentencing in three months time. The reasons for these offences I put down to mental health issues such as PTSD, PRSD, depression, anxiety and an extremely poor peer support network and so on and so forth, lack of housing, drug substance abuse that all seemed to feed each other and when I live like this, it is impossible to find the one thing that could save me a proper healthy relationship. They say loneliness is like a hunger, and though my life was shit, is shit, I feel like the law of attraction brought the worst of people and situations. So I just want to say thanks for your newsletter/prison paper.

Zayne

Greetings, prison newspaper.

I am writing to you from the Metropolitan Remand Centre just after lock in at approximately 5pm.

I read your paper the night previous, and a part of me that previously was dead or dying suddenly felt alive and connected to others with similar struggles and trauma.

I am 28 years old and come from a single mother with three other step siblings. My mum had me at 21 and at an early age, I was given a Criminal Reference Number. I have spent two years out of prison since the age of 19, roughly 8 years. I feel like there is no future for me until I read an article in your paper about post release stress disorder that lit a light of hope in myself that previously no one else could. I have been incarcerated for two weeks now, and awaiting sentencing in three months time. The reasons for these offences I put down to mental health issues such as PTSD, PRSD, depression, anxiety and an extremely poor peer support network and so on and so forth, lack of housing, drug substance abuse that all seemed to feed each other and when I live like this, it is impossible to find the one thing that could save me a proper healthy relationship. They say loneliness is like a hunger, and though my life was shit, is shit, I feel like the law of attraction brought the worst of people and situations. So I just want to say thanks for your newsletter/prison paper.

Zayne

On Choice

By Ronin Cruise

The greatest power we have is our choice, our ability to make decisions.

Letters

ISSUE NO. 24

1 MIN READ

‘I Don’t Want Prison to Be Home Anymore’

By Appollonia

I have been in and out of prison since 2016. My life has been a roller coaster.

Letters

ISSUE NO. 24

1 MIN READ

One More Day Closer to Being Free

By Luke

Yesterday I went for bail and I got denied, which really, really sucked.

Letters

ISSUE NO. 24

1 MIN READ

Finding ‘About Time’ and Finding My Voice Again

By Vanessa

When I found out about About Time I was excited to be able to write in to the national prison newspaper.

Letters

ISSUE NO. 24

1 MIN READ

Welcome to About Time

About Time is the national newspaper for Australian prisons and detention facilities

Your browser window currently does not have enough height, or is zoomed in too far to view our website content correctly. Once the window reaches the minimum required height or zoom percentage, the content will display automatically.

Alternatively, you can learn more via the links below.

Donations via GiveNow

Email

Instagram

LinkedIn