Dwayne knows the impact that a traumatic childhood can have on a person's life.

As a child he witnessed domestic violence, and was surrounded by drugs, poverty and criminality. In the absence of responsible parental figures, he turned to local gangs for attention, protection, and a sense of community.

“I didn’t feel loved or looked after at home. So being part of the elders gave me that sense of belonging."

By six-years-old Dwayne was committing petty theft, and as the years went by he progressed to drug dealing, and was soon taking part in serious violence and crime. As a result, he spent almost two decades in and out of prison.

“I’ve been shot, stabbed, and chopped in the head with a machete. I could have been killed so many times, but I didn’t care about my own life, let alone anyone else’s.”

Ten years on from his release from prison, Dwayne is sharing his story to show how he turned his life around as part of our Breaking Cycles: Building Lives campaign, which is being supported by Line of Duty actor Royce Pierreson and Harry Potter actor Zoë Wanamaker, who have voiced the animation of Dwayne's life below. 

Zoë Wanamaker said: “I am extremely proud of this project, and it’s been a pleasure collaborating with Causeway. The words you hear spoken in the animation are the real words of Dwayne, the man who bravely and generously shared his own story that is told in the film. 

Dwayne’s story is one of great complexity and emotion, and a story we need to hear. The trauma and neglect he experienced as a child, nobody should have to go through.  However, Dwayne did, and then the complex emotions, negative choices and lack of support which then led this young man to go into criminality, is a tale all too often true. England and Wales currently have the highest incarceration rates in Western Europe, but evidence has shown that harsh sentencing doesn’t prevent crime or reoffending.

I hope this animation helps shine a light on the life-changing work which organisations like Causeway do. However most importantly, I hope by people seeing Dwayne’s story told, we can bring more compassion when we look at those who have been involved in the criminal justice system.  In many case, traumas and abuses in childhood can affect the steps which somebody takes, and the opportunities open to them.”

Reducing crime by breaking cycles of trauma, poverty, and criminality that affect our communities is a major part of Causeway’s work.

Our crime reduction programmes work with people who have been arrested by addressing the issues that led to the offence. As well as offering practical support in accessing housing, education or employment, we help people access therapy for past traumas which are affecting their behaviour today. These can include childhood abuse, neglect, grief, or exposure to violence, and is linked to depression, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, poor self-esteem, and poor impulse control in adults.

The goals of these trauma-informed approaches is to help the person move on with their lives in a responsible way, and prevent the offence from being committed again.

Find out more about our violence reduction work here