Exprisoner’s plight not uncommon — Pars
THE situation of an exprisoner who lay on the road outside Dunedin Central Police Station in a plea for help is not uncommon, the Prisoner Aid and Rehabilitation Society Otago manager says.
In another recent incident, an exprisoner went on a spree in Mosgiel in order to return to jail.
Pars manager Juan Kinnear said rather than a failing of the Department of Corrections, circumstances came together for some exprisoners to create a perfect storm.
‘‘Usually, when you start talking to those folk you find that there’s quite a long backstory. They actually often have had quite a lot of support, but because of their personal circumstances, often mental health issues, they struggle to integrate successfully with probation services.
‘‘The consequence is that they don’t have any money or means by which to live.
‘‘In an ideal world it would be great if those particular challenges are identified and addressed . . . but every now and again an individual presents [who hasn’t] managed to utilise the supports that are available to them.’’
Mr Kinnear said Pars had provided the man with money, necessities and ‘‘plugged [him] in with Work and Income’’ but he did not want help in the longer term.
Pars Otago aids about 30 prisoners at any given time, all of whom have served sentences of two years or more, on a contract with the Department of Corrections.
Among that number there would usually be two or three who had been deported from Australia, Mr Kinnear said.
According to Corrections, 533 prisoners were released from the Otago Corrections Facility in the past calendar year.
Examples of the mix of issues affecting people recently released from jail were posttraumatic stress disorder, drug and alcohol use, poorly developed social skills and bad family circumstances, Mr Kinnear said.
Sometimes there was ‘‘just no shape’’ for a particular exprisoner in society straight after they left jail.
‘‘There are some folk who are just genuinely hard to work with and to help.’’
At present, the most difficult thing to help exprisoners with was a place to stay.
‘‘It’s been increasingly difficult,’’ Mr Kinnear said.
‘‘We can accommodate a limited number of clients for a short period of time, but they often really struggle to find longterm accommodation.’’
The society, based in Stafford St, works closely with the Dunedin Night Shelter, which can offer accommodation for 12 weeks through Phoenix House.