This is interesting - a whole new area that no one has ever posted a thread on. A very important topic anyway, especially for inmates like my PP who were incarcerated at a very young age and do not have a wife, a house, or helping family members. Does anyone know what the options are for inmates who don't have a house to go to?
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She had a grandmother and cousins that lived in Marietta, Georgia but that was over 20 years back and considering her lack of success so far in finding one to take her in VA it is little surprise she had no luck in GA, AK or 'Our Place' in DC.
I contacted Virginia 211 info as well as a national organisation -- Freepublicassistance .com to see if they could offer any assistance, although I am somewhat surprised that Virginia CARES could offer no help, granted they are a re-entry program that seems to offer everything BUT housing.
One must wonder what options those who have committed violent crimes and have no family have outside of trying the old hook some penpal for the sole reason of a place to stay and then do the quick exit the second their paper clears :uhh:
Interesting thing about Texas, one of my other penpals is being released to her halfway house tomorrow after near 11 years. Of course she being sentenced for drug crimes meant there was absolutely no difficulty in placing her in a halfway house and with family available and it already having reached her home confinement date its just a matter of a couple of weeks at most at the halfway house before she has her job and is back home :77smile:
Here are the rules for out of state parole:
VA DOC - Community Corrections - Out of State Supervision
In which other states has she been resident? The second option is difficult. Your penpal obviously has been incarcerated for a long time and that will influence a receiving state's decision to take her.
I can't help with the housing, but to parole out of state requires the completion of an Interstate Compact agreement by both states involved. Texas is notoriously slow at completing these, so I hope Virginia is more organised!
There is such a need in most states if your pp is in to it check with churches for help meny have homes for people getting out of prison and I'll pray you all find a place. Sorry wish i could help its hard when you've gkt no place tl go.
I am attempting to find a halfway house in Virginia that will take in my pp who is currently incarcerated for a violent crime but has been eligible for parole for several years.
I sent her what I could find about Richmond, Norfolk and Newport News in Virginia, Marietta and Savannah in Georgia where she has some relatives and even Little Rock, Arkansas but she tells me none of these will take her in. She asked me about Lynchburg but they appear to serve nobody other than alcohol and drug addicts.
Would anyone here be aware be aware of any place in Virginia (or even Arkansas) that would?
Thanks
In whatever state he's in, a google search can reveal at least a few local businesses, churches, organizations that are here to help inmates with these problems. You could maybe find whatever his local ones are and send him the printouts, to give him a little lift.
old topic, but not many threads in this section. been kinda talking to my one PP about their future....he's feeling pretty hopeless about it, and I'm trying to rack up ideas for what he can do. Even work wise, like when can they do? What about some of these guys that are covered in tattoos, what kind of work can they do? You know... how some of them are covered in gang tattoos (I know, wish they would thought that through before, but what's done is done)... is there any hope for them? And just to add... this one will be in his 50s by the time he is released... I guess still kinda young, but too old for some jobs...
Speaking of which, I need to start looking for something that K can use if he can get a transfer to Oklahoma because he now has an official release date. I want him here at home with me, but being that My Stepdad is also an EX-CON... A Parole officer is going to 86 that post haste. So I'm not sure what to do, but then again I have just under 4 more years to figure it out if he behaves...
Fiesty's got it in one.
I won't bore you with how it works in Australia, but I've been involved in helping several US inmates find a place on release, and its always been the faith-based organisations that come up trumps.
What's worked best is to get the prison Chaplain involved before release, and let them co-ordinate stuff, but a few letters direct to the chaplain, or 'phone calls to him/her might be needed to goad them into action. It doesn't matter if your guy is of the same faith as the Chaplain, or of no faith at all. All prison chaplains, even the muslim and jewish ones, work on the "great commission" principle.
But use the 'phone book, create your own network, and turn on the waterworks if you think its going to help.
Hiya, well having not to live there in the u.s, i did do some research on the internet for my pp of how he can go about looking for work & housing after he stays at the half-way house for 12weeks, in the big cities like N.Y,Chicago & L.A suprisingly there are quite afew organizations who can help specialize in that field esp helping ex.offenders get back into society by getting them into certain programs to help with jobs & find permanent housing, in the smaller towns the best people to ask for assistance will be the local churches.
Ohh Sorry Vixxxen... LOL, Spanky is my pp/fiance... it's his nickname... Since Penpal and I both have pp's named Kevin, I figured I'd use his nickname over his real name =)
I don't know who Spanky is, but thank you anyway. Lol.
I know there are halfway houses in AZ, especially in the major cities. But, when Spanky's stepdad was on parole, he was in California... He had to marry Spanky's mom before he could even get a transfer to AZ. I'm thinking will be the same for Spanky to get a txfr from AZ to OK, but I'm not sure. that's one of the things I've got to look into.
Helloise, thank you SO much!
Now that my pp has this health issue it's even more important for him. Wow. He is so strong! He stays positive all the time, and I do too, towards him, but I just know we both are sad.
Thank you for looking those things up. There weren't many on this forum that did that for me, though the few that helped me out and spoke encouraging words I am very gratefull!
~Vixxxen
Hi Vixxxen,
I felt so bad for you and your penpal so I did a bit of research and found a couple of organisations that have re-entry programs in Arizona, designed to assist former inmates to find work and housing etc. I don't know how current this information is but hopefully one of them can point you in the right direction. Failing that, I would definitely try the Salvation Army.
Phone: 520-882-9668
kcaldwell [at] primavera.orgrel="nofollow"
Phone: (928) 214-1048
genisisxmanager [at] aol.com
I also found this brochure as well, it's from a religious organisation which isn't usually my thing but it might be your pp's and while I didn't read all of it, it has some advice about practical ways to prepare for release. Might be helpful?
I hope any of this helps even a little. I'm not from the States either, so it's a bit new to me, too. Good luck! :)
I'll PM you hun, i don't know if i'll be much use though :/
Can anybody, ANYBODY gove me at least 1 telephone number that I can call for this information?
I mean, there are so many people here, isn't there ONE that knows if there are opportunities? I tried to PM de webmaster here, but that's not possible. I am looking on the internet all the time and I just don't know where to start! I am from Holland and if it was here I could just call whatever kind of advocate or something to ask for information, but I don't know s**t about the States!
And it hurts me so much when I get a letter from my pp that is so sweet and caring and interesting and somewhere between the lines, in this 10 page letters, he mentions how scared he is, that he doesn't want to fall back, but that there seems no other possibility 'hey, I know I can do time'....
I already know I'm going to buy him clothes so that he can go out properly, but that's about it. I am a student, can't afford anything else.
Is ther SOMEBODY out here that knows anything?
Any info welcome and very much appreciated.
up.....
Hello everybody,
I hope someone can help me out. My penpal has -just like someone mentiod earlier in this topic- no family, no friends. He is in Arizona and what they do there is just 'open the gates' and let him walk out. He doesn't even have clothes to wear! The sad thing is he gets more afraid and depressed the closer his release day is. That's sooo sad! I think it's very stupid the country does it like that. I mean, what do they expect from somebody when they don't offer any help? How is he able to get a house? a Job? How can you get that without doing criminal activities????
I wish I could help him but don't even know where to start, really. I'm from Europe, he's from there. I don't care to call every possible office or get any information needed, but just don't know where to start!!
Can anybody help me, and especially him? He's such a nice guy, really. I wish I could make him happy woth doing something for him so he can lead a normal life, where he hungers for so much....
I believe in Holland you get money from social services and they help you find a job. If you don't have family and such where you can live, the town you are registered (and lived before) helps you to find a house, together with social services. You get priority on the list of people waiting for a home. If you have too many depts that need to be paid first though, then you are ****ed. You can go and sleep at the Salvation Army or something like that. But they try to prevend that because you get in contact a lot with people that use drugs and/ or are homeless.
I don't know if this is always the case, but it was the two times I know of.
I was actually planning on taking my PP for a one-week-vacation right after his release, but I guess that's not an option if he's on parole. Bummer...
I have no idea. lol. but it sounds about right. He's in WA.
I BELIEVE. Not entirely sure as I have no experience with this myself.
Here and I might be mistaken but doing something like work release is for the GOOD boys because it becomes part of the time you were GOING to do. It eats up time that would have otherwise been spent in prison. And I believe once someone is done with their work release a halfway house is still an option.
This.
one of my pp's went to a work release program in August, he gets out This Saturday. So like, from the work release and he's done with his time. And then he'll be on parole for 18 months.
I don't know statistics but part of "paying your debt to society" often involves parole or some sort of post release supervision as part of their sentencing. So when they are done doing their time, they are still under watch and still have some rules to live by, i.e. no drug use, perhaps no drinking, etc. But while on parole they are usually free to live wherever they want, i.e. with parents, wife, girlfriend, alone, etc. It only becomes an issue if you are trying to "parole out" to somewhere outside of your jurisdiction.
The Halfway Houses are set out to HELP the person get on their feet, not as further punishment. As you said, we're talking about people who have NOWHERE to go. It's a place for them to rest their head while they find a job and get their life on the street back in order.
What happens in the Netherlands if someone gets out of prison and has no place to go?
Thanks YMI. I wonder if this is the same in all countries. I mean, if you are released, you have paid your dues... But then again, if you have nowhere else to stay... I'm still trying to understand the ways justice works in the US. It's a difference of day and night with Europe.
Usually they send the inmates out there straight out of prison. It's group living so they do have rules regarding curfew and stuff and he'll have to apply for social services I believe while he attempts to get a job and usually have a set time to stay there.
HALFWAY HOUSES
My PP is in Florida, but his family lives in North Carolina. Then again, I don't think his family is any use. What does a halfway house mean exactly?
I would imagine if they had no family etc they would parole to a halfway house, but as Mr Bear said different states will have different rules,
all depends where the pp is...different options from different states....