Greg Jones says he would have had to turn back to crime because of the effects of a ‘‘no fixed address’’ status. Picture: PAUL SCAMBLER
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THE Reintegration of Ex-Offenders program, which was cut by the government, helped Greg Jones to stay off the streets after his release from jail.
With no place to go and no ability to receive government benefits because of his ‘‘no fixed address’’ status, he would have turned back to crime.
‘‘The lady I was living with packed up and took everything, so I was coming out to start again,’’ he said.
‘‘You have no money coming in, no accommodation, nowhere to live, so on those cold, rainy nights you go, ‘well, I may as well go and do something stupid and go back to jail, as I’ve got a warm roof over my head and three meals a day’.’’
But Mr Jones was one of 52 ex-offenders assisted by the REO program between 2011 and 2013. It picks up people on their release from jail, armed with the essentials needed for living, and takes them to pre-arranged rental accommodation.
They are visited by the program officers three to four times a week and offered drug and alcohol treatment assistance if needed, and the program assisted as needed, to help keep people out of jail.
Under the new arrangements, prisoners will be placed on Housing Connect waiting lists, in line with the rest of the population.
Human Services Minister Jacquie Petrusma said prisoners would still be able to apply for housing assistance before they were released, from July 1.
‘‘They will continue to receive housing services through Housing Connect and, in fact, will have access to a wider range of services that better meet their needs,’’ she said. ‘‘We do not believe Tasmanians would consider that it would be fair to provide housing to ex-offenders ahead of, for example, a young family who are homeless and literally living on the streets.’’
Mr Jones said that while waiting, the ex-offenders would be forced to become homeless, and that was the individual’s and society’s problem.
‘‘The program works. Why do we want to close something that is actually working?’’