Teaching in prison: facilitator sought to make positive impact in community

Nick Carroll and Phil Moon have been running their programmes across New Zealand for more than eight years now. Photo / Supplied

A social enterprise teaching teenagers and inmates practical life skills is looking for a Northlander for its programmes in Ngawha Prison, probation centres across the region and a Whangārei high school.

The nationwide programme called Life101 has been operating for eight years - running workshops for job seekers, managing and investing money, and skills such as resilience, personal leadership and mindfulness.

"We're committed to finding someone who wants to be a positive role model in their community, as well as that person we all know who likes to be the 'life of the party'," Nick Carroll, co-founder of Life101, said.

"It's not just about teaching important skills, but also motivating someone to want to put what they've learned into action in their life."

Life101 runs programmes in prisons and schools teaching practical life skills. Photo / Supplied

The programme initially aimed to set teenagers up for life after school; how to apply for a job, where to open a bank account and when to think about retirement.

The Life101 programme caught the attention of the Department of Corrections, which asked Carroll and Phil Moon to run a workshop in New Zealand's only maximum-security prison in Auckland.

Since then, Life101 had reached more than 5000 people around Aotearoa.

"The men and women absolutely love it. It is one of the only programmes in prison that is forward-looking. Most other sessions they are doing is about what they have done in the past," Moon said.

"We want to empower the men and women we work with and hope they can pass on the knowledge to their tamariki."

Moon said the first time he walked into a prison he was terrified of the foreign environment.

"I was a room full of Mongrel Mob members covered in tattoos. But despite someone's appearance, we all have something in common – we are human. Tattoos or not.

"Working in prisons and probation centres has really opened my eyes to many of the systemic issues facing our communities."

Moon said a successful facilitator was someone "with the X-factor, a passionate, patient people person with a great sense of humour, extremely high energy and desire to help vulnerable communities".

As part of the role, the new facilitator would be leading one-day and four-day programmes for groups of between 12 and 20 across Te Tai Tokerau.

If you would like to find out more, email nick@life101.co.nz or visit life101.co.nz.