Shelter Tasmania has called for increased support for people leaving prison, saying that “some parolees are not being released as housing is not available”.
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The state’s peak homelessness body used its 2017-18 state budget submission to recommend “that the Department of Justice fund additional support and transitional accommodation for people exiting prison on parole and upon completion of their sentences”.
“Parolees require suitable accommodation to be arranged ... before they can be released on parole,” it said.
A state government spokesman said prisoners could request housing needs assessment through Housing Connect up to 30 weeks before their estimated release date. He said the government had however “no intention of giving priority to ex-prisoners over other vulnerable Tasmanians”.
Securing homelessness services funding and enhancing specialised programs for vulnerable groups were key themes of the submission’s 23 recommendations. Shelter Tas applauded funding to develop a facility in Hobart to support men and children facing homelessness, but said the North and North West regions “currently have little capacity to support this cohort”. Shelter Tas executive officer Pattie Chugg said uncertainty around the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness, which is funded by federal and state governments until June 2018, continued to concern the sector.
The submission recommended the state government fund a two-worker model for day and night shifts in youth shelters, and suggested establishing a working group to address the lack of affordable housing for young people aged between 13 and 16. Recommendations also focused on housing accessibility.
It said that while important reforms had been achieved in Tasmania’s housing and homelessness sector, it remained “challenged by funding pressures and continued funding uncertainty”. It said many of the recommendations complemented the state government’s Affordable Housing Strategy.