advice for someone just out of jail

Reverbe

I went on a Skills Training course which my Jobcentre sent me on and they mentioned there was some company who helps people who have been in jail find work but sorry I dont recall any names or details as I didnt pay much attention as it didnt apply to me. Perhaps the jobcentre will be able to point your friend in the right direction.

gillypkk

vintagegirl wrote: »

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

i was homeless when i first started claiming benefits and he can use the address of the hostel if the mail is guaranteed to be secure (the families unit i was in was staffed 24/7 and all mail was signed in by the staff and we had to sign to receive it) or he could use a c/o address till he has somewhere permanent like a friends of families address.

clemmatis

vintagegirl, NACRO, listed on that government site, does very good work, I believe. I used to know some of their staff, they were very committed.

http://www.nacro.org.uk/who-we-are/

http://www.nacro.org.uk/header/contact-us.html

AsknAnswer2

Firstly, he needs to apply for JSA (From your post stating he's looking for work, I presume he is fit to work) by calling 0800 0800 055 6688, monday to friday, 8am to 6pm.

A crisis loan decision will be given to him on the same day he applies, not weeks. There are two types of crisis loan: one to meet needs following a disaster - this is a postal application and is a dual application form which also suffices for a Community Care Grant (more on that below). The second type of Crisis loan is to meet immediate living expenses. This is a telephone application. For this, he needs to call 0800 032 7952 and explain his situation, asking for an alignment to benefit. Lines are open Monday to Friday, from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. If he is successful in his application for a crisis loan, they will tell him to present himself at the jobcentre later that day with 2 forms of ID to collect a girocheque to cash at the local post office.

He should also consider applying for a Community Care Grant to help him re-establish himself in the community.

CRH71

CountryGuy wrote: »

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

I can vouch for UNLOCK as a very valuable source of information for people in this situation. I was in the OP's exact same position a couple of years ago and the advice on the UNLOCK forums was very useful. There is also an excellent forum with an organisation called "pcuk" (Prison Chat UK) where they have a whole section of thier forums on preparing for release and life after release.

Good luck to your friend and I sincerely hope that things can turn around for them. It's not easy - but it can be done and something positive can come out of the whole experience.

I'd also be getting onto their Probation Officer - they are responsible for the rehabilitation of your friend.

Emmzi

NACRO seconded

kazzah60

can I just commend the OP on her willingness to offer the hand of help and friendship to this FORMER prisoner

How we ever expect people to stay away from offending, whilst not supporting them on their release is a surprise to me.

My neice works with the probation service and local charities helping ex offenders ( very serious crimes) to find voluntary work placements and housing to help them avoid slipping into a relentless cycle of re-offending.

Many of the gentlemen she works with leave prison with only the clothes they stand up in and when they do manage to gain interviews or homes, they are ill clothed and ill equipped to furnish them.
As a family we now donate all our outgrown clothes ( I've got two growing teenagers) and unwanted household items to her and she passes them onto the gentlemen she works with.
it's our way of trying to offer a bit of support to help them return to society and hopefully not to re-offend.

vintagegirl

kazzah thank you for your reply and to everyone else on here who has helped me, the friend in question is actually my ex husband and daughter's father, so for her sake as well as his, i feel i should help him. I will see if i can point him in the direction of the crisis loan tomorrow is jsa isn't immediately forthcoming.

To answer questions, yes he is fit for work and is actively doing this but as he only got out 4 days ago and is homeless, i hope you can appreciate that the accommodation is the priority
x

Morglin

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

He could give NACRO a ring - they are pretty good with advice and help for ex prisoners:

Nacro Resettlement Plus Helpline

Information and advice for ex-offenders, their families and people working with them
Resettlement Plus Helpline
159 Clapham Road
London SW9 0PU
Tel: 020 7840 6464020
Freephone: 0800 0181 259
Email: [EMAIL="helpline@nacro.org.uk"]helpline@nacro.org.uk[/EMAIL]

These sites may help:

http://www.nacro.org.uk/data/files/nacro-2008122304-244.pdf

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/p_prisoners_and_benefits.pdf

http://ssa.gov/pubs/10133.html

Lin

dave030445

AsknAnswer2 wrote: »

Firstly, he needs to apply for JSA (From your post stating he's looking for work, I presume he is fit to work) by calling 0800 0800 055 6688, monday to friday, 8am to 6pm.

A crisis loan decision will be given to him on the same day he applies, not weeks. There are two types of crisis loan: one to meet needs following a disaster - this is a postal application and is a dual application form which also suffices for a Community Care Grant (more on that below). The second type of Crisis loan is to meet immediate living expenses. This is a telephone application. For this, he needs to call 0800 032 7952 and explain his situation, asking for an alignment to benefit. Lines are open Monday to Friday, from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. If he is successful in his application for a crisis loan, they will tell him to present himself at the jobcentre later that day with 2 forms of ID to collect a girocheque to cash at the local post office.

He should also consider applying for a Community Care Grant to help him re-establish himself in the community.

Look how much he can claim for, who says crime don't pay it looks like it certainly does it this case.