Kat Break the Cycle: Turning Lived Experience into Support
In this blog, a mother supported by our Re-Unite project shares how she is using her lived experience and time with the project to improve outcomes for women leaving prison. Commonweal’s Re-Unite project (2007-2017) provided safe housing for mothers released from prison in partnership with Housing for Women and Women in Prison.
My name is Kat. I’m a mother of five and the founder of Kat Break the Cycle, a project I created from my own experience of care, domestic abuse, prison, motherhood and rebuilding my life.
As a child, I spent time in a refuge. Years later, I found myself in a refuge with my own children. I also gave birth in prison and have experienced reoffending. I know how difficult it can be to move forward when the circumstances around you haven’t changed.
Through my own life, I’ve come to see how being a care leaver, experiencing domestic abuse and leaving prison can overlap. For some people, these experiences are connected through trauma, unstable housing, isolation and gaps in support. I want Kat Break the Cycle to recognise those connections and see the whole person behind them.
After prison, I received support through Commonweal’s Re-Unite project in South London, with support from staff at Housing for Women, who Commonweal partnered with. The project provided me with settled housing and the guidance and support to rebuild my life with my children and break my own cycle.
My time with Re-Unite showed me the real difference practical help can make when someone is given a real opportunity to start again. That’s why it’s the foundation of Kat Break the Cycle.
Through online awareness content and honest conversations, I’m building a community where people can feel heard without judgement. Beyond social media, I want to help connect women care leavers, prison leavers and survivors of domestic abuse with practical support and somewhere to turn.
One idea I’m developing is gifting journals to women in prison, starting with mother and baby units. The idea came from my daughter Lilly, who was a little girl when I was in prison and is now a young woman herself. The journal project, called “One page at a time”, would give women a space to reflect, record memories of motherhood or express feelings, without pressure. I would love to include a pen and an affirmation card with the journal.
I’m also planning to run an online workshop around domestic abuse, lived experience and rebuilding, with input from professionals and partner organisations. These plans are in the early stage, and I’m seeking guidance and collaboration.
My goal is to carry forward the belief others showed in me and enable people to find opportunities to break their own cycles.
I’m keen to connect with charities and frontline professionals in this space, and I welcome conversations about partnerships, training, resources, and developing a realistic first project. Please contact me at: Katbreakthecycle@gmail.com.
