Inmates in halfway houses get a small taste of freedom: how halfway houses changed their lives
More than a month ago, Lithuanian Prison Service opened a halfway house of Šiauliai Prison. This was the sixth halfway house in Lithuania with the capacity for 20 persons. In halfway houses, inmates get resettled from prison to prepare for release or conditional release. The selection is based on strict criteria. Halfway houses provide much greater chances for release, but inmates have obligations to follow discipline and rules, otherwise they would get back to prison. Here, inmates have access to employment, education and shopping, sports, and may visit their families. Practical evidence proved that such trust motivates offenders to work towards their re-entry to a normal and independent life. Halfway houses are a stepping stone to fully integrating into society.
A halfway house is an institute which aims to fully meet the needs of inmates and to provide targeted social, psychological, legal and other necessary assistance, the results of which would prove that an inmate is capable of pursuing his or her goals independently, in a way that is legitimate and in line with the standards of society. Put simply, halfway houses are a kind of re-entry programme, uniquely designed and tailored to address many of the challenges faced by people on release, such as employment, housing, antisocial networks, physical and mental health, etc.
In halfway houses, inmates have to get used to windows without bars
Gediminas wakes up early in the morning - at half past six, has his coffee, gets ready and drives to work by his own car. He works at the construction site doing what he knows best - interior completion. When he comes back, he takes a shower and has dinner. For dinner that night he had pre-cooked pasta with meat, which he reheated after work. He goes grocery shopping for the next days. Gediminas is already calculating and planning what food he will buy and what he will cook. He has a weekend plan to go home to his family and see his daughter, whom he misses very much despite often phone calls. "I come home at weekends like from a business trip," he laughs.
He enjoys every minute of every day which seems a usual day to many of us. Yes, he is an inmate serving a sentence, resettled to a halfway house from a closed regime. Inmates who have met strict requirements, passed a selection process and got resettled to a halfway house may go outside to work or study, they earn their living, and return home to their families on weekends. However, they have to respect the rules and return on time to the building which is called a place of detention, where, they say, they also feel like home.
“I used to work in prison, the prison environment itself was depressing, the windows with bars. The situation is different at a halfway house. Large spacious windows, light walls, everything smells of renovation. After being resettled to a halfway house, an inmate told me once: “I’m looking out of the window and I need to get used to the view with no bars”, said Birutė Butkuvienė, resocialization specialist at a halfway house of Šiauliai Prison.
Relationships with family members are critical during imprisonment
When in halfway houses, inmates may have mobile phones in their possession and have access to internet. Such things are forbidden to those in prison. Furthermore, the conditions in halfway houses are built on trust and reduced restrictions which facilitate inmates to foster their self-reliance. Participation in social life reduces anger and the feeling of vengeance, a person becomes more creative, gets involved in community activities. For example, inmates contribute to city events, volunteer, help out at foster homes for children and elderly, or animal shelters, and take part in other community activities. Usually, they re-enter community having different attitude and mindset, and with social contacts.
Inmates share that the relationship with their families is crucial to them. The families motivate them to return to the community as soon as possible, to live a law-abiding life.
"When I got sentenced, I was terrified that my child would become distant from me. She was two years old and I feared she’ll forget me. The lockdown restricted the family visits. Usually we communicated via phone, but only 15 minutes were allowed per day. Now I see how happy she is with my phone calls and coming home, she expects me. It's a great joy of life for me too”, says Gediminas.
Another inmate, Arūnas, told us that he has tried very hard not to commit a single offence over the years, to comply with all the rules, and as a result he got resettled to a halfway house, from which his family has become much easier to reach, his relationships have been renewed, and he may return home, feels happy, works, pays his lawsuit out of the earnings, and is able to maintain himself.
“I value my family. When I was in prison, my wife used to tell me that whenever I wanted to do something bad, I should think of them. My children, my wife was always on my mind. They are worth the effort. From the halfway house, I return home on Friday and leave on Sunday. I feel like a student, moreover, I also bring home-made food," said Arūnas happily.
The staff of halfway houses also notice that the freedoms granted to inmates in open regime make them more motivated to return to a normal life, to respect the rules and laws of society, and to value freedom.
“I recall the first night the inmates were resettled. It broke my heart to see how they video-called their families and showed them around. We underestimate lots of things. They taught me to notice and enjoy the little things”, said resocialization specialist Birutė.
Social worker: halfway house life as a training exercise before release
Eugenijus Arlauskas, social worker at a halfway house of Šiauliai prison says that resettled inmates experience radical changes.
“Not even comparable. They feel free persons here. They are also protected from risk factors - neither drugs nor alcohol is allowed. The persons here learn to appreciate freedom and understand how precious it is and that every wrong step may lead back to prison. Those who have spent over 20 years in prison say that people outside witness everyday changes, but for them life with all its changes came as avalanche”, revealed Eugenijus.
Halfway house staff help inmates get used to a life outside. When needed, they accompany inmates to the supermarkets, banks, even cafés or sports clubs, assist with paperwork at various institutions and even support when talking to employers.
“We are here to assist adapting to changes. Inmates don't even know how to pick up a shopping trolley at a supermarket, as some of them had no such things at the time they got sentenced”, explained the social worker.
Finding a job is the most challenging part for the halfway house inmates. They should get employed within a month otherwise they go back to prison. When it comes to employment, it turns out that persons with convictions are not in high demand.
“We had several cases when inmates got almost panicked when they were promised and refused jobs. Finally, they managed to get employed. When I called employers, they explained that no persons with convictions, especially drug convictions, were welcome. But if we refuse allowing a person to earn living in a legal way, a person will find an illegal one”, said Eugenijus.
Sure, there are other employers ready to give a second chance.
“They first days at work were the best: they used to send us pictures from their working places and we could see how happy and motivated they were”, said the specialist.
First steps into freedom: a wish to cuddle a cow and soak the feet in the lake
Gediminas, an inmate we talked to, said that finding a job was quite easy to him, but trips home were another dimension.
“Everything looked weird. I had to wait for two hours to get a bus home, but I enjoyed that waiting time: I was looking around, got lost in time, everything was so strange”, said Gediminas.
Other inmates also shared their first impressions on their trips home: one of them wished to cuddle a cow he saw grazing in the fields and soak his feet in the cold lake, others who have been in prison for two decades, got lost in space and could not perceive the fact that were free to go either way, not the way they were told to.
The inmates said they appreciated freedom more than ever and built the plans for the future.
“Life has meaning as long as somebody is waiting for you at home. I have the most precious things in life - the child, the family. I may come home every weekend now. My daughter burst into tears when I had to leave last time. I calmed her down that soon I will come back. At home I spend time with my family - we go to play bowling, to the ice arena, or the cinema. I have only a few friends left. Prison helped me to get rid of many fake things and only what is real remained”, said Gediminas.
Gediminas is now firmly determined to live a sober life. In prison, he had much time to think and analyse his behaviour and had to face the truth that most of his problems were due to alcohol intoxication. Life at a halfway house helps him to prioritize his life, to identify what he wants, to choose new paths, a new way of life.
“Here you get to appreciate the freedom and better self-control yourself. You test your strength to resist temptations. When at a grocery store, we see alcohol and it’s you who choose to resist or give up. Anyway, when you have a goal in life, you don’t want to slip, you want to live a normal life”, said Gediminas.
Last updated: 24-04-2024
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