Jail programs helping prisoners get their life together on their release

After injecting herself with a white powder in jail, that wasn’t ice, and developing septicaemia, then spending weeks fighting for life in ICU, Lexi knew something had to change if she ever wanted to see her child again.

Hundreds of inmates have unshackled themselves from their addiction to deadly drugs and many more have swapped the confines of a prison cell for full time work – their determination and grit immersed in some of the state’s most intense and unique jail programs reaping them a second shot at life.

The Saturday Telegraph has been granted rare access to two of the programs and spoken to those who have come out the other side.

Among the pathways to success is the Intensive Drug and Alcohol Treatment Program – an eight to ten month high intensity residential treatment program located at the Geoffrey Pearce and Dillwynia Correctional Centres.

It was developed specifically for men and women who have entered custody and whose alcohol and other drug use is linked to their offending.

NSW Correctives has confirmed 661 inmates – 190 of them women – had successfully completed the program since it started in 2012.

That equates to about 60 people a year given the tools and support to break free from the cycle of crime so often linked to drug abuse.

An eight to ten month intensive drug and alcohol rehabilitation program is available to inmates at the Geoffrey Pearce and Dillwynia Correctional Centres (pictured). Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

A recent study by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research found prison infractions of male inmates who completed the program were reduced by 73 per cent.

Another program giving inmates a better shot at a productive life post jail is the Pathway 2 Employment Program.

To be eligible for the program, inmates must have an earliest possible release date of one to six, have no sexual and serious offences, and not be classified as a public interest offender.

The long list of criteria also includes positive case notes and no offences in custody within the past six months.

Since April 2020, 169 people have found meaningful employment and remained in work after their release from prison.

Here are three of their stories.

FROM ROCK BOTTOM TO ROCK SOLID

Drug abuse left her in ICU in jail. To ever see her child again she had to change

After injecting herself with a white powder in jail, that wasn’t ice, and developing septicaemia, then spending weeks fighting for life in ICU, Lexi knew something had to change if she ever wanted to see her child again.

But getting back into the Dillwynia Correctional Centre drug rehabilitation program once you’ve been kicked off, isn’t so easy.

“I just didn’t believe in the program. Yep. I thought it was bullshit,” the young mum, who was serving a sentence for drug supply, confessed during an exclusive interview in the jail with the Saturday Telegraph.

“You know, and then you get with a group of people that also think it’s bullshit and then you all just play on it.”

A stint in the ICU though finally made Lexi look inward.

“They said I could have problems with my heart and the bacteria from the injection was all through my blood. And then the antibiotics to fix me, of course I’m allergic to, so I had like eight different drips with two drips each time.

“For the time I was in hospital I was just a mess. I remember laying in bed and just thinking, ‘what have I done?’.”

Lexi was first too frightened to tell her mum: “I lied to her and I told her I’d got a jail tattoo”.

“But I had to tell my mum. She was looking after my child and thinking that I was doing well in the drug program, you know rehabilitating myself but I was kidding myself.”

Lexi knew that unless she applied to get back onto the program, beg and plead if she had to, she would have no way to dig herself out from “rock bottom”.

Enter Sonia Cheema, caseworker and group facilitator of the Intensive Drug and Alcohol Treatment Program at the women’s jail in southwest Sydney.

Sonia Cheema empowers women at Dillwynia Correctional Centre to achieve their full potentiation and overcome immense hardship including domestic violence and addiction. Picture Rohan Kelly

She became Lexi’s confidante, sounding block and voice of reason.

“We are very strict and we had to discharge her. We had to seriously consider whether to bring her back in. Sometimes they come back more determined because they realise that they just can’t come into this program and do whatever you want,” Ms Cheema said.

“You have to do the work. And I think for Lexi it was hitting rock bottom and realising how much her addiction had a control over her.”

She was like most participants at the start: “They will always say ‘It’s fine. When we get out there, everything’s going to be different’. But we will say to them ‘If it’s not different in here, how’s it going to be different out there?’”

Lexi, and the other participants are supported by psychologists, health and education workers, and custodial officers as they learn skills to change the thoughts, feelings and behaviours attributed to their offending.

The experts drive them towards “maintaining abstinence” by learning the necessary skills to change the thoughts, feelings and behaviours attributed to their offending.

The eight to ten-month program means signing up for intensive group and one-on-one sessions, regular urine testing to show the inmates are committed to positive change.

The inmates are carefully chosen based on whether their offences are linked to their drug and alcohol use, and their willingness to grow and learn. Program participants are housed with other participants to provide support to each other even outside of program sessions.

For Lexi the uncomfortableness of exploring her thoughts and feelings, unmasking her traumas, has been crucial to her new-found drive for life, for work and most importantly her child.

The girl who “wouldn’t listen to anyone and all they wanted to do was help” now relies on her support network inside and outside of jail.

Not only has she successfully completed the program, learnt skills to become a qualified forklift driver but she has maintained a full time job for the last six months and has not reoffended.

Before she was released having served her sentences, she became a mentor for the program.

LESSONS IN REBUILDING A LIFE

New skills for teacher convicted of fraud who lost everything

Teacher of 10 years Anna had a job she loved and children who loved her when she found herself in prison for fraud.

After switching the classroom for a jail cell for six months, Anna has found her way back to a career in education, and wants the public to know criminals can change their ways.

Anna’s fall from grace started after becoming a single mum, struggling to keep up with bills, expenses for her kids and car troubles.

“My bills were more than I was earning, having multiple children and being a single mum … I hear myself and I sound like a middle class woman, but at the time it was like chaos,” she told The Saturday Telegraph.

“My daughter had attempted suicide and I was trying to put a bandaid on the situation.”

Not seeing a way out of her financial black hole, the Sydney teacher turned her eyes to the coffers of a community organisation her family was involved in.

The idea was simple – she would take enough to cover her bill and once she had made the money back, she would put the money back into the account.

Anna found herself in prison for fraud. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

No one had to know it was missing.

But her financial woes only got worse.

“Then my car would break down, my girls would need braces and new shoes,” she said.

Eventually she had stolen thousands of dollars from the organisation, caught red handed and sentenced to a six months in prison.

“My family doesn’t speak to me, I lost my job and my pets, my ex husband and parents sold my house and everything I owned,” she said.

“I know I did the crime and I’m not the victim here. But my jail sentence was my punishment. Being in jail and knowing I had no house to go to, it was really overwhelming.”

With so much of her identity tied to her teaching career and unable to see a way forward in any job, let alone teaching after her conviction, Anna fell into a dark place.

Her guiding light came in the form of the NSW Corrective Services Pathway 2 Employment program, which starting working with her on job ready skills before she was released.

They were able to put together a game plan, working out which positions she could realistically apply for and put her in contact with job providers on the outside.

Anna is now working for an online tutoring company. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Within eight weeks of her release, Anna was able to put her teaching skills to use working for an online tutoring company, creating resources for teachers and creating lesson plans.

Offenders must meet a number of conditions to be eligible for the program, including having an earliest release date between one and six months, having no sexual or serious offences and not being classes as a public interest offender.

They must also have been of good behaviour for their last six months behind bars.

Another inmate who knows how important a job can be to staying on the straight and narrow, is Paul, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

“I could have easily slipped back into what I was doing before,” the ex-inmate, who served three years for drug offences said.

“As soon as you’re out everyone’s on you to get back into that life.”

But the ex-inmate has remained clean after securing work through NSW Corrective Services’ Pathway 2 Employment program.

“Having a job keeps me busy, keeps me focused and gives me confidence,” he said.

“I was battling addiction before but this job is allowing me to stay on track and be present with my family.”

The 51-year-old ex-inmate earned his crane licence and dogman ticket while behind bars, and left prison with a job lined up at a timber construction company.