Rise in ex-prisoners facing homelessness, struggle to reintegrate

An old, run-down fire station may not seem like much of a home, but it was all Murray Strawbridge could find as an ex-prisoner living in the regional West Australian city of Bunbury.

Ex-prisoners like Mr Strawbridge are one of the fastest-growing cohorts facing homelessness, and advocates say they need more support.

Mr Strawbridge, 46, had been squatting with three other people in an abandoned fire station in Bunbury for 10 months, unable to find a place to call home in the city where rental prices have skyrocketed and homelessness has worsened.

Mr Strawbridge said it was not perfect, but it was a roof over his head.

“It was security for me even though there was no door for me to lock,” he said.

“It was more of a privilege to have somewhere where I could rest, where I could close my eyes.”

Last week Mr Strawbridge was evicted from the abandoned premises, leaving him wondering what was next.

Mr Strawbridge has paranoid schizophrenia, among other mental health conditions, and has been bouncing in and out of jail since the age of 12.

He acknowledges his criminal history but now wants to “better himself”, get a job and move forward.

For that, he said he needed a home.

Bunbury has crisis accommodation for young people and has trialled tiny houses to provide transitional housing for those who need it.

Mr Stawbridge said he wants to see similar initiatives for people released from prison.

“We must have accommodation, or we’re just going to relapse and go straight back into a place I never want to see again,” he said.

“We’re only at the tip of the iceberg; I have seen more people adding to the homelessness [problem] and it is going to get out of control.”

Mr Strawbridge’s situation is not unique.

David Cain is the Managing Director of Outcare, a group providing reintegration and diversion services in WA.

He said there is stigma surrounding people who have served time in prison, making it difficult for them to break into an already tough rental market.

“One of the fastest growing cohorts experiencing homelessness across the country are those people who have been prisoners,” he said.

“We need to be clear-eyed and understanding that everyone [in prison] exits at some stage and it’s in all of our interests as a community to make that as seamless and effective as possible.”

Mr Cain said there is a “strong likelihood” of people reoffending if they are unable to find stability.

He said 33 per cent of people in jail have experienced homelessness.

“In a situation where there are a significant number of people that are falling through the cracks, we do need to do better and try to find accommodation and housing for everyone,” he said.

With nowhere else to go, Mr Strawbridge has turned to an old friend of 28 years, Carol-Lyn Mills, who lives 50 kilometres away in Busselton.

“I took him back to my home because he had nowhere to go,” Ms Mills said.

“This guy has been through so much trauma … We need to get him a place and somewhere safe.”

Embracing each other in tears out the front of the abandoned fire station, Ms Mills’s help seemed to be a rare kindness for Mr Strawbridge.

He said he hoped he would be able to find a more permanent arrangement soon.

“I do pray that I get stable accommodation because I already have mental health issues,” he said.

“I’m a product of the system. Why are they not helping a product of the system?”.

Source: ABC.