As a Vocational Support Officer (VSO) at Casuarina Prison’s Industries area, Lyn is more than an instructor to the men in her care.
“A lot of them call me mum – I suppose I’ve been here long enough,” she laughed.
Switching careers from the Education Department when she was 45, Lyn said she found her calling with the change.
“I find it really rewarding, I enjoy coming to work, I enjoy the atmosphere,” she said. “I’ve loved it – 14 years and I’m not retiring yet.”
As Vegetable Processing Supervisor, Lyn oversees the processing and packaging of vegetables for all Perth metropolitan prisons, with her team filling orders 5 days a week.
As well as the work itself, the men learn about the values that come from that work such as respect, discipline, cooperation and communication.
“I say to the boys when they come down here, leave everything else in the unit and treat this as your workplace – this is a job,” Lyn explained. “Because I take pride in them, they take pride in their workshop.”
Lyn said the working relationship builds a bond of trust with the men under her supervision.
“I have a good crowd,” she said. “We get on, they come to me with their problems.”
That’s where some of her most valuable work as a VSO begins – helping prisoners achieve success in their rehabilitation journey.
“It’s your life skills you’re giving them – you hope you are being a good mentor and putting them on the right path,” she said. “It’s good because a lot of the boys I’ve taught in here haven’t come back.
“I would recommend anybody to become a VSO.”
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