My Life – Mental Health Charity

My Life is a mental health charity that supports the mental health and wellbeing of children, young people, and adults in education and the criminal justice system. We aim to encourage and educate the people and communities we work with to promote a more open and less stigmatised outlook on mental health. In particular, we recognise that many individuals in custody experience mental ill-health, trauma, isolation, and limited access to support, and we work to improve mental health understanding and encourage early help-seeking through practical, relatable, and lived experience-led support.

A key part of our work is ensuring that support is delivered by people who understand the realities of prison life and mental ill-health first-hand. This lived experience-led approach helps us build trust and meaningful engagement with participants who may feel disconnected from traditional services. We focus on early intervention rather than crisis response, helping individuals better understand their emotions, recognise warning signs, and develop healthier coping strategies before problems escalate.

Practically, we deliver mental health and wellbeing training, peer-support programmes, group discussion sessions, and purposeful activities within prisons through our Unlock My Life project. We also train prisoners to become Mental Health Ambassadors, enabling them to support others within their environment.