The interrelationship between homelessness, criminal offending, incarceration and then release from custody into homelessness to repeat the cycle has been noted in several Australian studies over the past ten years. According to Sotiri and Faraguna, the most common difficulties faced by people who sought assistance from the Community Restorative Centre’s Telephone Information and Referral Service (TIRS) in 2016 were insufficient crisis accommodation services for people released from custody, and insufficient pre-release planning and support for people about to be released from prison.
While there are differing opinions as to what is the cause and what is the effect within this cycle, what is clear is that the individuals caught up in this vicious cycle experience significant frustration, anger, anxiety, disappointment and cynicism at the failure of government and support services to provide an effective circuit breaker that allows them to rebuild their lives.
This article was first published in the March issue of Parity.
