Co-founder Jacob Little shares story at vulnerable persons conference

Jacob Little was the guest speaker at the UniSQ Vulnerable Persons conference recently. He spoke about growing up visiting his dad Todd in prison, being abused at a youth detention centre and turning his life around.

"I got out of jail pretty angry, after what I had just been through," Jacob said. "I was on a path of destruction - when I got out, I went back to my bad behaviours. I was committing crimes, I was back on probation, back on parole." 

Jacob said his dad was in the 10th year of a 16-year prison sentence. "I was sort of looking for that family that wasn't there." During visits to see his dad in jail, he witnessed the prison guards treating inmates poorly and developed a lack of respect for people in authority. Jacob got involved in a bikie gang and was facing a 20-year prison sentence under Queensland's VLAD Laws. "Most of those days I was thinking 'is this what my life is going to be like?'"

Jacob said the support of his mother was something that helped him stay strong during his prison sentence. Jacob and other inmates charged under the VLAD laws were forced to wear pink inside. Jacob's mother Caroline Stuart attended protests to plead for his release and had pink t-shirts made. "She went to all those protests in a pink t-shirt - it was a bit of a piss-take to them making us wear pink," Jacob laughed.

Thankfully, Jacob's charges were dropped and he was released from prison. "I left that life behind," Jacob said.

He started About Time for Justice after sharing his story about being a survivor of institutional abuse. He is also passionate about fitness. "For my mental health, I love training - it's a passion of mine," Jacob said. "I'm really into my health and fitness and I turn up every day. I'm training for the Gold Coast Marathon."

Jacob said it was an honour to be asked to speak at the conference. You can watch his full speech here.