QSM Can anyone approach you to assist?
RH Usually the right person ends up selecting themselves anyway as it can be that they have the best intentions in the world in wanting to go and help out in prison. You’ll see them on the visits watching the walls, looking at their feet and not keen or interested in the work, or they become very shy. An initial check of personalities needs to happen to decide whether their personality suits working in prisons. Yeah anyone who I think has shown considerable experience in a commercial music context and who wants to show interest in getting involved in the charity will be allowed an opportunity to come and do a placement or something like that.
QSM Has the work taken any psychological impact on your world, personally?
RH Yeah, I would definitely say it's draining because you're juggling very complex psychologies who are basically either mad, sad or bad and they're traumatized. They say that after three months of being incarcerated you feel that you are essentially going mad. You are providing a kind of open platform to get them out of their incarcerated space through enjoying creative practice, like music. This means it can take it's toll on you personally, so you have to be very careful how much you give of yourself to the people you are dealing with. You have to be very sure in your heads what it is you want to achieve. You also need to realize that you are not a miracle worker and you can only do so much.