Name: Carole Rudland
Job: Prison Resettlement Worker
Time with Nacro: 3 years 6 months

I joined Nacro because...

...having previously worked in a prison establishment, I knew I enjoyed the work and the challenges it presented. The position with Nacro seemed like the perfect vehicle for using both my prison experience and the knowledge I had of working with offenders beyond the establishment. I had also liaised with Nacro staff previously and felt that working for a reputable organisation like Nacro would be a good career move.

My job involves...

...delivering advice and guidance to prisoners, dealing with them from induction to release. We primarily deal with accommodation and associated issues, including maintaining tenancies, addressing rent arrears, securing accommodation for those who will be homeless on release and referring those with specific issues to appropriate accommodation providers. I also work closely with those coming up for release, as well as liaising with family members to arrange collection of possessions and dealing with their questions about how prison systems work in terms of sending in money, visits etc.

I enjoy...

...the variety of interventions each prisoner generally needs, which require that I liaise with a multitude of partnership agencies and that I make referrals to specialists to ensure continuity of care when the client is released. I act as an advocate for prisoners of all abilities, and while this is often challenging it can also be very rewarding. I particularly enjoy helping people to change their lives and the positive outcomes we achieve. I’m very fortunate to have a very good manager who supports me but also appreciates that, as I’m actually the one performing the role, I have a greater understanding of what works and what doesn’t. I like the fact that I work with other people who are looking to achieve the same outcomes for clients as me: first line management and colleagues working together as a team can produce some very dynamic outcomes.

My job offers a number of challenges...

...I primarily deal with accommodation issues and there are a number of challenges associated with this. The first is getting prisoners to address the issues they face: many will have lost their tenancies due to arrears, behavioural problems, non-compliance or because they have gone into custody, and it is often a challenge getting them to accept that the issues will not disappear until they have been addressed. The second challenge is dealing with some accommodation providers who are reluctant to take a chance with this client group. The process often entails a lot of paperwork and information but I always submit referrals to show that the demand is there in the hope some clients will be given a chance at some point. The referral process can also be extremely lengthy which can mean that the prisoner is released without accommodation before the outcome is known. A lack of accommodation means that even those who are accepted are often placed on lengthy waiting lists.

My success stories include...

...a 42-year-old male from the Middlesborough area who was serving an 18-month sentence for supplying drugs. He had a history of substance misuse and a number of offences linked to possession of various drugs. He had submitted applications to various accommodation providers but his probation officer confirmed that she had no plans for any accommodation for him on release. I was informed by some accommodation providers that their lists were closed so his application would not be processed. He is also a diabetic with a heart condition and back problems so I referred him to the Supporting People panel as his medical issues concerned me. I attended the panel and was dismayed to learn that, because of an indecent assault he had carried out in 1976 on a female under the age of 14, the local authority would not accept him.

However, a member of the panel who was the manager of a Stonham-supported project said they would accept the referral. A couple of months into his stay there staff expressed concern that he was not fully engaging with the programme and that his partner (who had also been in prison for a drugs related offence and was up for release) posed the most serious risk to him staying clean. But within a year, he had turned his life around, split up with his partner, fully engaged with the project and not returned to either drugs or offending. He has just moved into his own permanent accommodation and is managing with floating support. While he may never work again due to medical issues, he has succeeded in achieving a more stable lifestyle from which he can now build a better quality of life.