Gary Doohan, Lucas Scarpin and Donna Moulds
An initiative to provide a backpack of essentials to provide assistance on their release from Junee Correctional Centre has received a $5000 boost from the Fusion Walan Miya Group – the prison’s training provider.
Upon release, some of the most vulnerable men may not have the support they need and leave with nothing but a plastic bag of what they came in with. GEO Group who run Junee’s Correctional Centre have started this initiative to try and change that.
Inmates drove parts of the operation in terms of choosing items that would be most helpful to them upon release, especially if there was no family or home to go to. These included a sleeping bag, change of clothes, rain coat, toiletries, first aid kit, water bottle, and snacks. Eligible men would also receive a pre-paid mobile phone all bundled within the backpack.
Also included in the backpacks will be resources such as a train timetable, map, notepad and pen, and a laminated list of emergency contacts, including shelters, Centrelink, Medicare, mental health services, job networks, and food banks.
Centre Vocational Services Manager Donna Moulds helped identify the best things to include in the backpack and saw it through to its final conception.
“My role with the backpacks was to find some donations and also be able to put it together and make it usable item for an inmate when they’re released,” she said.
“For someone to successfully reintegrate back into the community, they need to get started somewhere. Getting started means getting to the locations they are being released to and having some mechanisms to contact those services that will help them. If they don’t get started, they feel a bit lost and often can’t look for employment or can’t find housing if it’s not been arranged for them.”
GEO say they are committed to the rehabilitation of inmates and this is backed up by their operation of a support facility called The Bridge Centre in Richmond that offers men opportunities outside of prison with the support of a team of specialist post-release case-managers and community partners. It claims to be the first facility of its kind in Australia.
“We do a lot of programs for reintegration back into the community and there’s lots of organisations out there, this is why we’ve put the [list of emergency contacts] together with contact numbers because sometimes they don’t know where to start,” said Donna.
“How does someone know where to start, how to make a call when they don’t have access to other funds? How do they get into contact with those people? That can start to weigh on them heavily and that’s how they give up and start to get into the trouble that got them here in the first instance.”
Fusion Walan Miya Group Director, Lucas Scarpin, who offered financial support for the project discussed why he was willing to provide backing for the project.
“It’s an easy decision when you look at what the purpose of the program is, trying to provide some support and dignity to recently released inmates. With the work we do in the prisons around education and increasing skills to connect to employment opportunities, if this helps get them those jobs then it’s an easy decision,” he said.
“Even with just my conversations with a few of them, having some anonymity and not being able to be identified as an inmate is important. Giving them those key contacts after their release before getting back to their family and friends is a good way to connect them and maximise their chances for employment.
“We made a financial donation to the program and Donna and her team, with consultation with the inmates, found out what the best things were to put in the backpack and they sourced the equipment for it.
“It’s awesome and excellent. I hope this is just the start of a long-term program.”
GEO staff member Gary Doohan modelled the backpack last Thursday and was happy to hear that inmates would be receiving the pack of crucial items for their departure as soon as six days later.
“They’ll be beneficial, when they leave, they could be in transit for two days so they need deodorant or hygiene products and all that sort of stuff.
“It will be very important and help build self-confidence and self-worth. I think it’s a great idea.”
Jack Murray