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Richard is a man in his sixties. His daughter Jill is due to be released from prison in a few months’ time.
“When my daughter Jill went into prison it was a time of huge upheaval. I never realised that preparing for her release would involve just as much change.
We’ve been visiting Jill regularly since she’s been inside but realise she may not want to live with us when she gets out. We are in our sixties and she’d like to move back to Sydney.
I spoke to the prison welfare officer who said they would soon start to seek post-release accommodation for Jill. I think she’s going to need some support as well, which is why I phoned CRC’s TIRS line. The worker there suggested that CRC’s Women’s Transitional and Post-Release Service may be able to support Jill and asked the worker to contact me and the welfare staff at the correctional centre, to meet with Jill before her release.
The TIRS worker also told me about CRC’s Family Caseworkers and explained how their support can be beneficial to families of people who are exiting custody. This sounded like something we could do with, so the TIRS worker has asked them to contact us. The TIRS worker also mailed me some copies of the Planning Your Release booklet to pass onto Jill and The Families Handbook, which includes information to help families around the time of the inmate’s release.
I’m happy for the prison welfare worker to make accommodation referrals and the TIRS worker encouraged me to contact CRC if we needed additional referrals or information.”
