Serious efforts are being made by various public bodies to facilitate the smooth transition of ex-prisoners back into the labour market by providing them with acceptable accommodation on release.

For example, in June 2008 twelve councils were elected to run a new scheme called Enhanced Housing Options in which they hope to improve housing people through various advice both concerning housing and employment. Each of the trailblazers have received £350,000 to develop their housing advice services, making links to employment advice and other services in accordance with their locally identified needs.

For the first time ever, this funding will allow local authorities to create advice services tailored to the needs of their local area and clients. This is predicted to improve the issues of homelessness dramatically when the scheme is extended to more local authorities in the future.

 

Bournemouth, one of the pioneer towns

Bournemouth council was chosen as one of the trailblazers in October 2008 and it is the only one in the South West of England. Surrounding Bournemouth are the prisons HMP Dorchester, HMP Guys Marsh and HMP Winchester and is an area in the UK where several released prisoners reside on release from prison.

 

Bournemouth council deals with several former offenders in helping them find a place to live every day. There are around 450 prisoners discharged every year to Bournemouth who have served relatively short term sentences, but long enough for them to lose their home.

A person only needs to be in prison for around 6 months before they will lose a private sector rented accommodation. So within a very short time frame a person can lose his or her house, job, and come out to nothing. The provision of accommodation is viewed by many local authorities as the key to prisoner rehabilitation.

Bournemouth council deals with several former offenders in helping them find a place to live every day. The total number of people that came for help with housing to the council doors last year was just under 15,000. Half of these people claimed to be homeless or soon to be homeless.

 

Thousands of people claiming to be homeless seek help in Bournemouth every year.

 

Geoff Walker, the Housing Options Manager for Bournemouth Council, said:
“It’s a fact that if you have nowhere to live and you are an ex offender that you are more likely to reoffend, therefore more likely to end up back inside. So for the collective good usually it’s better to accommodate ex offenders than not.

“If we fix all a person's issues we’ll probably sort out their housing problem permanently. No address means no job, and no job means no money to pay for rent so it’s a vicious cycle. ”

The project seeks to tie all these things together and support the individual in addressing the issues that lead to his homelessness, helping with training and employment, for example. The improvements made have to be sustainable, which is what the government is working towards as it wants to reduce the amount of people reliant on benefits.

Bournemouth council chooses to run a rent deposit scheme because of the large private sector available, with around five times the amount of houses than the social rented properties the council runs that are available. In Bournemouth, former offenders are one of the groups that are a priority by being helped though this new trailblazer programme.

 

What NOMS have done

 

NOMS: helping bring together organisations in order to help prisoners

 

Another pilot project was set up about three years ago called the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) which attempts to link the activities of the probation service and the prison service in both their efforts to reintegrate ex-offenders into society by ensuring that they have accommodation on release from prison. This gateway is a coordination facility by bringing together the demand for accommodation, as identified by prison and probation officers, with the supply of accommodation as conceived by accommodation officers in this new specialist unit for Dorset.  

David Lofts, the manager of Dorset Gateway Probation Service said:

“About 20% of the work is placing lower-risk ex-prisoners into supported accommodation, supported by the Service providing rent deposits enabling the clients to obtain private sector tenancy. The remaining 80% are placed in supported and approved accommodation, hostels with staff.

“The applicants' personal circumstances are reviewed and advice offered as to whether they are eligible to apply to the council for help. For example, those who have a local connection and they are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless can apply to the council who have an obligation to provide them with accommodation.” 

 

Most prisoners serve less than 6 months and prisons are keen to ensure that such people are not released with NFA (No Fixed Abode). The accommodation officers attempt to ensure that councils or former landlords are made aware that such absences are temporary to prevent tenancies from being lost. The prison service refers cases of those serving more than 6 months, who lose their accommodation, to the NOMS to help find them accommodation.

Research has shown that ex-prisoners with accommodation are 20% less likely to offend and those with accommodation which enhances their chance of a job, are 50 % less likely to offend. Hence the importance of the work of the NOMS and the trailblazers projects. Added to these are the efforts made to provide ex-prisoners with labour market skills through education and vocational training.

Another service is provided by the ETE Unit in Poole which trains ex-prisoners to fill in job applications in a manner which is transparent but which does not prejudice their chances of success.