Are you at risk of homelessness after being released from prison?

If you are due to be released from prison and do not have anywhere to stay, you need to engage with the prison’s support services to try and arrange accommodation on your release. This may include hostel accommodation.

If you were recently released from prison, there are services that provide practical support and help to find accommodation. You may be entitled to support from Probation or a Community Rehabilitation Company.

Should you have nowhere to stay and are at risk of sleeping rough, please complete an Alert on the Streetlink website thestreetlink.org.uk who will refer you to our outreach service.

Contact the council

If you are applying as a homeless person, we have a duty to provide free housing advice and assistance to eligible households. One of our housing officers will consider your circumstances including offending history, health and local connection. We will assess whether you are eligible to apply to the housing register. If you have no connection to South and Vale, we may consider referring you to an area where you have a local connection.

We will create a housing plan with options that you need to explore. This could include:

• Asking family and friends about accommodation

• Looking for work

• Applying for benefits

• Looking for accommodation

• Securing accommodation through probation services

• Referring you to a local authority where you have a connection

Councils have a duty to provide accommodation for homeless people who have a “priority need”. Leaving prison does not necessarily mean you have a “priority need”; a housing officer will assess this. The assessment will consider whether you may be vulnerable for any of the following reasons:

• You have a mental health condition

• You have a learning or physical disability

• You are under 21 and have been in care

• You were in the Armed Forces

• You are escaping violence or threats of violence

The council might not be able to offer long-term accommodation if we consider that you made yourself intentionally homeless because of criminal or anti-social behaviour.

What is a local connection?

When you apply for housing assistance from any council, the housing officer will consider your connection to the local area. Your local connection is established if you:

• Live in the district and have done so for the last six months

• Are currently employed in the district on a permanent contract

• Have a mother or father, brother or sister or adult child living in the district for more than five years.

Time spent in prison in a specific area does not give you a local connection. If you cannot establish a local connection with any area, or you are escaping domestic abuse, you can apply to any council.

Useful contacts

Shelter – 0808 800 4444

Connection Support – 01865 711267

Aspire – 01865 204450

Mind – 01865 247788

Crisis – 01865 263 900