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What you need to survive in prison is different to what you need on the outside. Many people have said that the first few weeks out were harder than their time inside. Coping with money problems, dealing with other people and feeling like you don’t belong in society can take a toll. You may feel lonely, depressed or anxious. If you are feeling like this, it’s time to seek support. Support can range from someone just listening to formal counselling. It also includes practical assistance to get what you need or help you with planning and budgeting.
Family and friends can be a great form of support. But they may be part of the problem or unable to help. There are many services that you can go to for professional assistance.
Types of support that may be offered include:
Sometimes just having someone to listen can make you feel better. It can help you feel less stressed and you will be able to make better decisions. Finding the right person to talk to is important. You may need to try a few services before you find what’s right for you.
To find a support service, ask your doctor, your community health service or other local services. Telephone Helplines provide counselling and advice. They are a good way to get information about services in your area. You can also look up services in AskIzzy app or on the internet. If have a support worker, you could as them. Otherwise, you can call support services. If people can’t help you, they will usually be able to put you in touch with someone who can.
Some services will allocate a social worker ora support worker to assist you with practical, social or emotional needs. They will be abl eto help you to access the services you need. Some government agencies, such as Centrelink, have social workers that you can ask to speak to.
Counselling is a chance for you to talk to someone in a safe space. It helps you identify your problems and find solutions. Counsellors are non-judgemental and keep the information you give them confidential. They will have experience talking to people with similar issues.
Support groups are for people who face the same issues to meet and help each other. There are support groups for many different issues, such as alcohol or drug use, depression and bereavement.
There are some mentoring programs for people leaving prison – where people meet one-on-one to support re-entry. These programs often pair soon to be released or recently released folk with volunteers, peer mentors with lived experience of prison, or professional case managers to provide practical, emotional, and social support. Some examples include Women and Mentoring, Prison Fellowship, The Power in You project and programs at the Community Restorative Centre (NSW). Ask a case worker to look into available programs for you.
Helplines can provide counselling, advice or information over the phone or via chats. Some will also be able to refer you to local services. They can support you through a crisis or give advice about ongoing issues. They are usually free or cheap to call and don’t charge for their services. You don’t have to give your name or address.
24 hour alcohol and drug counselling, information and referrals
Information and advice to anyone affected by family relationship difficulties or separation.
Help for people with gambling problems
24-hour general counselling service. Anyone can call, it doesn’t matter how big or small the problem might seem
Information about prescribed, over-the-counter and alternative medicines
Information for men who are thinking about their anger, behaviour, relationships issues or parenting and need help or support.
Support for men with anger issues. Also provides advice for families
Information and advice about mental illness.
24-hour support to people who are thinking about suicide, or people who have been affected by suicide. Can refer to other services.
Support, advocacy and information for women.
24-hour crisis support and safe accommodation (refuges) for women and their children.
What you need to survive in prison is different to what you need on the outside. Many people have said that the first few weeks out were harder than their time inside. Coping with money problems, dealing with other people and feeling like you don’t belong in society can take a toll. You may feel lonely, depressed or anxious. If you are feeling like this, it’s time to seek support. Support can range from someone just listening to formal counselling. It also includes practical assistance to get what you need or help you with planning and budgeting.
Family and friends can be a great form of support. But they may be part of the problem or unable to help. There are many services that you can go to for professional assistance.
Types of support that may be offered include:
Sometimes just having someone to listen can make you feel better. It can help you feel less stressed and you will be able to make better decisions. Finding the right person to talk to is important. You may need to try a few services before you find what’s right for you.
To find a support service, ask your doctor, your community health service or other local services. Telephone Helplines provide counselling and advice. They are a good way to get information about services in your area. You can also look up services in AskIzzy app or on the internet. If have a support worker, you could as them. Otherwise, you can call support services. If people can’t help you, they will usually be able to put you in touch with someone who can.
Some services will allocate a social worker ora support worker to assist you with practical, social or emotional needs. They will be abl eto help you to access the services you need. Some government agencies, such as Centrelink, have social workers that you can ask to speak to.
Counselling is a chance for you to talk to someone in a safe space. It helps you identify your problems and find solutions. Counsellors are non-judgemental and keep the information you give them confidential. They will have experience talking to people with similar issues.
Support groups are for people who face the same issues to meet and help each other. There are support groups for many different issues, such as alcohol or drug use, depression and bereavement.
There are some mentoring programs for people leaving prison – where people meet one-on-one to support re-entry. These programs often pair soon to be released or recently released folk with volunteers, peer mentors with lived experience of prison, or professional case managers to provide practical, emotional, and social support. Some examples include Women and Mentoring, Prison Fellowship, The Power in You project and programs at the Community Restorative Centre (NSW). Ask a case worker to look into available programs for you.
Helplines can provide counselling, advice or information over the phone or via chats. Some will also be able to refer you to local services. They can support you through a crisis or give advice about ongoing issues. They are usually free or cheap to call and don’t charge for their services. You don’t have to give your name or address.
24 hour alcohol and drug counselling, information and referrals
Information and advice to anyone affected by family relationship difficulties or separation.
Help for people with gambling problems
24-hour general counselling service. Anyone can call, it doesn’t matter how big or small the problem might seem
Information about prescribed, over-the-counter and alternative medicines
Information for men who are thinking about their anger, behaviour, relationships issues or parenting and need help or support.
Support for men with anger issues. Also provides advice for families
Information and advice about mental illness.
24-hour support to people who are thinking about suicide, or people who have been affected by suicide. Can refer to other services.
Support, advocacy and information for women.
24-hour crisis support and safe accommodation (refuges) for women and their children.
Homelessness is often the biggest worry that people have when being released from custody. A lot of people leave prison not sure of where they will live. This section gives a rough outline of how people can look for homelessness services and different types of accommodation.
Everyone has the right to dream. To expect. To imagine a version of life where we get to decide who we are – not just live with who we’ve been told we are. That kind of dreaming is powerful. It keeps something alive in us. Something worth fighting for.
Feeling isolated and lonely is very common after you’ve left prison. In prison you didn’t expect to open up to people and enjoy their company. Now you’re outside, it takes time to relax and be friendly to people.
We all need identification. Identification (or ID) is a document that proves who you are.
Walking out of jail here in Perth wasn’t the moment my life changed.
When the walls close in, both physically and mentally, it is easy to feel like the person you once was has been lost. For many, incarceration becomes not only a punishment but a pause. A disconnection from one’s true self.
At first, it felt like nobody wanted to give me a chance. But, eventually, one employer took a chance on me. That warehouse job may not have looked like much to others, but to me it was everything: it gave me purpose, structure and, most of all, hope.
Prison is endured, not processed. The trauma often goes unrecognised and unacknowledged. Many of us hide the damage, even from ourselves. Without validation, we carry it alone – mistaking struggle for weakness, layering self-blame on top of trauma and finding no clear path to relief.
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