advice for someone just out of jail

vintagegirl

Just wondered if anyone can give me advice for a friend who, for obvious reasons, does not have the internet.

He is just out of jail and i have been to the housing office this morning with him as he has nowhere to stay. They have managed to get him into a hostel with a view to eventually finding him a little flat.

He afterwards went to the Job centre to see about benefits and they say he cannot sign on for the first time until the 30th of june, and will get money approx 3 weeks after that. (jsa??)
They also werent very forthcoming with info about a possible crisis loan...

Is there more info i can get for him about this kind of thing?
He came out of jail with £68 in his pocket, most of which has been spent on food, a few bits of clotes (boxer shorts etc) and bus fairs to and from the job centre, so he doesnt have a lot left.

Any help from someone in the know? many thanks

vintagegirl

well that goes without saying, obviously thats what he's doing but he's only been out 4 days, so its kind of immediate help, im thinking of for him

vintagegirl

maybe, if you don;t have any advice on this subject, you would have comments for other threads on this forum, that would 'help' people

CountryGuy

vintagegirl wrote: »

Just wondered if anyone can give me advice for a friend who, for obvious reasons, does not have the internet.

He is just out of jail and i have been to the housing office this morning with him as he has nowhere to stay. They have managed to get him into a hostel with a view to eventually finding him a little flat.

He afterwards went to the Job centre to see about benefits and they say he cannot sign on for the first time until the 30th of june, and will get money approx 3 weeks after that. (jsa??)
They also werent very forthcoming with info about a possible crisis loan...

Is there more info i can get for him about this kind of thing?
He came out of jail with £68 in his pocket, most of which has been spent on food, a few bits of clotes (boxer shorts etc) and bus fairs to and from the job centre, so he doesnt have a lot left.

Any help from someone in the know? many thanks

I found this link that might be of some help??

http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/adviceandsupport/beforeafterrelease/resettlement/


Money and benefits
Advice and support is available to prisoners on financial matters during custody to assist in their resettlement after release. Prisons work in partnership with Jobcentre Plus who are able to help prisoners with benefit claims such as Housing Benefit, and will advise on claiming benefits when released. At discharge, prisoners may be eligible for money in addition to a discharge grant to help secure accomodation on release.

The site might have more information that may help.

Good luck and here's hoping he can make a go of things in the outside world now without having to turn to crime.

dave030445

K,A+P wrote: »

With an ever increasing swarm of ignorant, judgemental people like yourself - I dread to think

Iam not judging thats been done and he was foung guilty.
It just shocks me you no something wrong go to jail. And when you come out they expect a flat and benefits. is there not a place where you go when you come out of jail to get you work to support yourself

vintagegirl

dave030445 wrote: »

Iam not judging thats been done and he was foung guilty.
It just shocks me you no something wrong go to jail. And when you come out they expect a flat and benefits. is there not a place where you go when you come out of jail to get you work to support yourself

if there was something like that, he would be doing it. LIke you said, you are not here to judge, so if you cant be of help, you don't need to comment, THANK YOU

vintagegirl

CountryGuy wrote: »

I found this link that might be of some help??

http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/adviceandsupport/beforeafterrelease/resettlement/


Money and benefits
Advice and support is available to prisoners on financial matters during custody to assist in their resettlement after release. Prisons work in partnership with Jobcentre Plus who are able to help prisoners with benefit claims such as Housing Benefit, and will advise on claiming benefits when released. At discharge, prisoners may be eligible for money in addition to a discharge grant to help secure accomodation on release.

The site might have more information that may help.

Good luck and here's hoping he can make a go of things in the outside world now without having to turn to crime.

THANK you so much for your help. ill have a look at that . Thanks again for taking the time to help x

CountryGuy

dave030445 wrote: »

Iam not judging thats been done and he was foung guilty.
It just shocks me you no something wrong go to jail. And when you come out they expect a flat and benefits. is there not a place where you go when you come out of jail to get you work to support yourself

In our town we have a couple of Churches that will provide a roof over your head and support but I'm not sure if that support involves help with money.

My dad used to volunteer at the Catholic one and would quite often come home a tenner less as someone there would have no cash.

Unless the support is there then how can we expect x prisoners to stay out of trouble?

If they have no money this will lead to more crime as they will need to eat and clothe themselves.

They should be homed and receive benefits until they are able to get back on their own 2 feet. They will need money for interview clothes, transport to interviews, printed out copies of cv's etc.

CountryGuy

vintagegirl wrote: »

THANK you so much for your help. ill have a look at that . Thanks again for taking the time to help x

Not a problem at all.

Looking on that site there's a link A-Z of support groups. I noticed when I clicked on that link one came up called UNLOCK, it also has its own forum so perhaps you might receive better advice there.

http://www.unlock.org.uk/staticpage.aspx?pid=143

gillypkk

a crisis loan takes a few weeks to come through. the jobcentre sound less than helpful!!

i would have thought the prison should have helped with this sort of info as part of his release. that link posted above sounds like the best bet.

this guy was convited of a crime and has served his time. no need to hold it against him forever! we dont know what he was convited of or the circumstances so no need to judge. the JUDGE already did that!!

vintagegirl

gillypkk wrote: »

a crisis loan takes a few weeks to come through. the jobcentre sound less than helpful!!

i would have thought the prison should have helped with this sort of info as part of his release. that link posted above sounds like the best bet.

this guy was convited of a crime and has served his time. no need to hold it against him forever! we dont know what he was convited of or the circumstances so no need to judge. the JUDGE already did that!!

I went to the housing with him but not the job centre, but from what he has said afterwards, they were trying to dissaude him from the crisis loan but he doesnt really have much of a choice.
As i said he came out with £68, most of which has already gone on essentials. You need an address and cash in the first instance to even get a job interview which is what i am trying to assist him in