What Do You See in This Picture?
You see a prison cell with a bed.
A calendar pinned to a wall.
One date is circled in red.
You might think:
That’s the day someone gets out. The day they go home. A day of freedom.
But what if that red circle isn’t hope?
What if it’s a countdown to homelessness?
Not a Countdown to Freedom – A Countdown to Nowhere
Most people have dates on their calendars that mark milestones –
a birthday, an anniversary, a wedding, a job interview, retirement.
Countdown to nothing
For some prisoners, a calander on their wall means they watch as they get nearer to having:
- Nowhere to live.
- No money.
- No job.
- No phone.
- No plan.
- No future
Their countdown is not to something good.
It’s a countdown to nothing.
NO Resources
- Prisoners can’t go online.
- They can’t scroll Rightmove or fill in housing applications.
- They cant even claim Universal Credit until the very day they’re released.
- They don’t have email, Google, or digital ID access.
- They have a phone – costing up to 8p a minute but can only make calls to pre-approved numbers, submitted days in advance.
Release Isn’t
Always Freedom
On release day, they’re handed their possessions in bags they can carry.
They step outside and head straight to the Probation Office.
There, they meet someone who may offer sympathy, guidance, perhaps a leaflet. As they exit the Probation Office and stand on the street, time stops.
They have to fix up their life without being given any tools.
As you approach your release date, you start to evaluate what possessions are essential.
Once 'out the gate' the only possessions you own will be those that you can carry.
Until then, you only have the following items to help find somewhere to live.
Prison Desk
Pen
Paper
Payphone