📋 Your Personal Reentry Plan
Leaving incarceration without a plan is one of the biggest risk factors for returning. Om will create your specific, actionable plan based on your situation.
🏠 Finding Housing After Release
Housing is the single greatest predictor of successful reentry. Many reoffences happen within weeks of release — often due to homelessness.
- Pre-release planning — Start planning housing before release. Many prisons have reentry co-ordinators. Use them. Apply for housing while still inside.
- Halfway houses / transitional housing — These exist specifically for people leaving custody. They provide shelter, structure, and support during the critical first months.
- Council housing — In the UK and Ireland, you can apply for council housing while in custody. Contact housing benefits as soon as possible.
- Never accept homelessness as the only option — Specialist reentry housing support exists in every country. Om can find specific resources for your location.
💼 Employment with a Criminal Record
A criminal record makes job searching harder — but not impossible. Millions of people with records are working today.
Ban the Box Employers
Many major employers have signed the "Ban the Box" pledge — they don't ask about criminal records on applications. Ask Om for a list.
Fair Chance Employers
Companies like Dave's Killer Bread, Greyston Bakery, and thousands of SMEs actively hire people with records.
Trades & Manual Work
Construction, painting, landscaping, and trades are often less focused on background checks and more on skills and reliability.
Vocational Training
Many reentry programmes offer free skills training — welding, coding, plumbing, HGV licences. These bypass traditional hiring barriers.
🧠 Emotional Wellbeing & Staying on Track
The first year after release is the hardest emotionally. Understanding what you will face helps you prepare.
What Many People Feel After Release
- Overwhelmed by choices and responsibilities after structured prison life
- Shame and difficulty reconnecting with family
- Loneliness — your social network may have changed entirely
- Fear of failure and of returning to old patterns
- Anger at the system and at themselves
- These feelings are normal. They do not mean you will fail.