Advocating for prison reform

Rockett Bretherton is a survivor. She was exposed to drugs at a young age - she was only six when she was offered her first cone. She battled addiction and was in and out of prison.

While behind bars she endured horrific conditions, especially during her time in jail in Townsville. She and several inmates were denied food and water and access to a toilet.

Rockett admits she became institutionalised - she was resigned to the fact that she would return to prison. "I would call it my jail," she said. However, after one stint in jail, she decided she wanted to turn her life around. She helped created a podcast in jail - Birds Eye View. Rockett admitted she didn't even really know what a podcast was. However, it has been downloaded more than 500,000 times and Rockett has been contacted by dozens of people who said her story had inspired them to change. "The podcast really really helped me," Rockett said.

She quickly decided she wanted to help people who had found themselves on a destructive path after experiencing traumatic childhoods. She applied for a job with the Justice Reform Initiative and is dedicated to lobbying for alternatives to incarceration. "Incarceration doesn't work - there is a million people who could tell you that ... how damaged you come out ... you go in there a damaged person, you come out an even more damaged person," Rockett said.

Rockett spoke to Jacob on his weekly live on Wednesday night. Listen to the full live stream here

You can listen to the Birds Eye View podcast here