Donne le Rythme

How do you build a future when you get out of prison?

How do you find a job when you drag a locker?

Coraline De Spirlet asked herself these questions very early on.

His parents once welcomed a former inmate into their home. Later, she became a facilitator in "Children under the Protection of the Judge" camps and volunteered in prison: regular visits to inmates to offer them support.

From these experiences was born a clear desire: to move the lines.

At the age of 25, she co-founded Unago, the first Belgian agency specialising in the professional reintegration of people with a criminal past.

A very ambitious bet in a sector where prejudices are very tenacious.

But Coraline moves forward with a simple conviction: "you can have done something wrong without being a bad person."

To date, Unago has already supported 125 candidates, in conjunction with 15 partner companies, and more than 20 public institutions. 

The objective is clear: to allow them to (re)get to work, in dignified conditions, with real follow-up. And to fight against recidivism.

Because we know it:

• 70% of people leaving prison return.

• But this figure drops to 15% if they find a job.

It's one of the most powerful levers we have. For them. And for society.

In this episode, Coraline recounts:

• How she set up Unago with little means and a lot of commitment

• What she learned from her meetings with inmates and former inmates

• The most common employer biases (and how she responds to them)

• What it changes, in concrete terms, to have a job after a stint in detention

• The challenges of financing when you want to create an impact structure, without depending on subsidies

• The support model she has put in place, from the meeting to the post-recruitment follow-up

An episode that shows a reality that is often ignored.

And it shows how employment can be a real tipping point.