Mark: In the early part of 2022, rather out of the blue, I got a phone call from a woman who explained that her son was here, in HMP Edinburgh. He had worked out that he needed to go bankrupt in order to clear the burden of his debts, to give himself a fresh start when he got out of prison. He had gone as far as submitting his own application, but that was rejected by the Accountant in Bankruptcy, and he was told that he needed to get independent debt advice.
I had only been a debt coach for a few months at that stage, and so I was still in the full flush of the CAP spirit and breezily said, ‘Yes, I’m sure we can help.‘
Eight weeks later, having been through the training and compliance requirements both of CAP and the Prison Service, Melanie and I were escorted into the heart of the prison to meet with him and two others for the first time. Those cases proved to be a great success—they were much easier and much faster than we had anticipated. And as a result, we’ve been coming into the prison on a regular basis ever since.
Duncan: CAP debt help has been available for three years now at HMP Edinburgh (correct as of 2025). During that time, we’ve had 140 prisoners request meetings with Mark, Melanie and the Edinburgh West Debt Centre team. We’ve seen 32 prisoners become debt free, and we’ve dealt with £500,000 worth of debt and lifted that from their shoulders.
Melanie: When someone is in prison, whether they are serving a sentence or on remand, they are not actually just deprived of their liberty, but they are also cut off from the outside world. They are unable to contact their bank, their landlord, their utility providers and any other part of their financial lives. We see this as an opportunity for churches to reach and serve some of the most vulnerable people in our country who are trapped in cycles of poverty. We want to help lift the burden of debt and share the love of Jesus with them.
Mark: This project has been possible through partnering with the Offender Outcomes team at HMP Edinburgh. They have been unwavering in their support for us. They have opened doors for us, and they’ve encouraged us to get this service up and running.
Ginny: Well, my job in Offender Outcomes is really just to make the journey of the people in our care as smooth as possible—to help signpost them to the correct agencies that they need to work with so that they’ve got a better chance on the outside of staying out. A lot of people that come in to us are not very good at managing their life. They have a lot of mental health issues and other issues outside of that, including financial issues. So CAP plays a really big role in helping people manage their money.
I believe we’re looking at maybe doing some more work with CAP too, maybe a wee money management course, which is really important because a lot of these people lead very chaotic lives. Being able to put things in place for them to be able to focus a wee bit more will help them in the long term.
Melanie: As we do with every person we serve, we emphasise that we are there because we know that God loves them and that he has a good plan for their lives, even if they can’t see it. We are there to be their advocate, to treat them with compassion and dignity, and to help them in really practical ways.
Mark: We’ve been on an amazing journey over the last three years. We’ve had fabulous support from everyone at HMP Edinburgh, and we’ve been able to reach a lot of people that we would never have otherwise been able to get to.
Giles: Would you please pray for us and this work? There is a lot of interest and support for this project from our church network in Scotland and from other organisations such as Scottish Prison Fellowship, Junction 42, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Scottish Prison Service and the Scottish Government.
Our hope is for more churches to be able to offer debt help within other prisons throughout Scotland in the coming years, to see people freed from the burden of unmanageable debt, and to have the opportunity to hear about the love of Jesus. Thank you.
