10 years on from his release from prison Berkshire-based Dwayne is sharing his story for a new celebrity-backed animation to stop others going into crime.

From the age of six Dwayne began committing crime and by his teen years he was heavily involved in drugs and convicted of robbery. 

He spent 17 years in and out of prison and when he finally left he committed himself to a life free from crime, and preventing others from going down the road he had.

Dwayne has now teamed up with BAFTA-nominee Zoë Wanamaker, and The Witcher star Royce Pierreson to share his story.

They have created an animation with the national crime reduction charity Causeway, to raise awareness of the link between childhood trauma and criminality, and shine a light on Causeway’s trauma-informed criminal justice services.

Growing up in Slough in Berkshire, crime felt the norm for Dwayne.  Everyone around him seemed to be involved in illegal activity in some capacity. 

However, when he went to prison for the final time in his late twenties, things changed for Dwayne, almost overnight. 

He started healing his trauma, starting to meditate and taking an interest in spirituality, reflecting on what he’d been through and what he’d done, and decided that he wanted a better life.

Dwayne says, “When I went to prison that final time, I was at rock bottom.  I didn’t care what happened to me. 

"I’d just met my now wife, Mel, but neither of us were in a place to make things work.  If I carried on as I was, I would have destroyed us both.  However, that time in prison, I started healing myself, becoming conscious and making different choices.”

Dwayne finally started to see a future, and an opportunity to move away from a life of crime and drugs. 

He also began helping fellow prisoners, teaching them how to become conscious through self-development, and encouraging them to open up and deal with their traumas.

It was this which made Dwayne realise he had gift, and mad him want to focus on helping other people when he was released.

Royce Pierreson said: “I'm very honoured to be a small part of such an important campaign.  Dwayne's story was hard to hear, but seeing him turn his life around and help others is a testament to him and the amazing work organisations such as Causeway continue to do.”

Causeway works with those involved in the criminal justice system to break the cycles of trauma and criminality to reduce reoffending, and in doing so, brings down those impacted by crime.