Finding somewhere to live when you're leaving jail or prison

Coming out with a release date and no address is one of the most common ways people end up back inside. The housing question is usually urgent, usually last-minute, and usually asked by somebody with very little time on a phone.

The single thing that changes outcomes here is lead time. A house can plan for someone arriving in three weeks. The same house may have nothing on the afternoon you are released.

• Ask your case manager, counsellor or officer to start the housing conversation now, not on the day.
• Find out whether your release conditions require an approved address, and who has to approve it.
• Ask whether anyone is funding the first weeks — a court contract or a programme sometimes does, and it changes what is possible.

Expect questions about where you are coming from, what your conditions are, whether you are on any prescribed medication, and when you can move. None of that is a trap. A house that asks nothing is not being kind; it is not paying attention.

A referral from a court, a programme or an officer is normal and often faster. What it does not do is remove your say. You should still be told what it costs, what the house standards are, and what happens if things go wrong — before you arrive, not after.

Call rather than fill in a form, and say the date out loud in the first sentence. Anyone who can help you will reorganise around a date; nobody can reorganise around information they do not have.

Put your release date in it. Everything else gets scheduled from that.