“Parole approved pending housing.” This is by far the worst sentence I have heard in prison. Not hearing the judge say I am being sentenced to three and a half years; not being told that I have just lost my house and all my possessions or that my loss of liberty will not be the only punishment I will receive while in prison.

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Despite doing my non-parole period of two years and two months, and completing a three-month intensive Forensic Care behavioral change program designed for serious violent offenders to be eligible to apply for parole, I still cannot be released due to there being no suitable housing.

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All the counselling, mental health assessments and treatments, medication trials, AA and NA, the tantrums, the tears, self-reflection and holding myself accountable – I'm still here.

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The Adult Parole Board (APB) sent me my four-week letter, which usually means that they will issue you with a release date in the next four weeks. I call my family to tell them. My mum cries, my dad's voice is full of joy and he cuddles my daughter. They tell me they love me; we hang up and I feel proud of what I have achieved in prison. I have put in 100% effort and I truly want to be better moving forward. I finally have a chance at freedom. I believe I can do this life sober and happy without drugs and crime.

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Three weeks later my ATC worker comes to see me and tells me that yes, parole is approved; however, Corrections Victoria does not have any housing options for me. There are no transitional housing or Corrections Victoria properties available. I will be required to stay in prison unless I can find my own housing.

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So, I cry and cry some more. I then have to call home again and tell my family I will no longer be released from prison until I can find my own housing. My mum cries and keeps asking me “Why are they doing this to you? “You have done all the right things,” she says. “You are not perfect but you're really trying!”

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So, I cry again. I hear the pain in my dad's voice. It's cruel, I tell them I don't know what to say. I try to reassure them that I will be home soon. Before Mum hangs up the phone she says to me, "It's not fair, Kelly, I don't want to live here alone anymore without you! I want you to come home! Why won't they let you come home?".

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This broke my soul; I have never had a conversation like that with my mum. As I sit here now in my cell writing this down, I am starting to cry all over again. It's a Saturday here at DPFC in October 2024 and we are locked down in our cells for the fourth time this week due to not having enough staff to operate the prison.

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It's been eight months since I first got my four-week letter. The APB and Corrections Victoria require me to find my own housing while I am in prison, however, I cannot use the internet to view or apply for properties. No one in my support team in prison can use any of the housing websites to apply for me. I am not permitted to have day releases to go find, view or apply for my own housing.

From my research, from 2021-2022, Corrections Victoria has approximately 19 houses for people leaving prison on parole. Only one parolee can live at each property. Men and women are in the same pool for those houses. There were approximately 116 prisoners needing parole housing in 2021-2022.

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These are the options that the APB deem appropriate housing options to be released on parole:

• A home owned by you (where the offense didn't happen)
• Corrections housing (very few available in Victoria)
• A room with a family member who has no criminal history. You must have your own bedroom and space. Shared rooms with your children or anyone else are not deemed appropriate.
• A house rented by you. However, while you are in prison you cannot access:
• • Housing websites
  • Visit the potential rental
  • Put deposits down
  • House must be approved by APB E-scan prior to applying
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The APB will not approve:

• Long stay serviced apartments (like Quest) even if it is paid six months in advance
• Cabins in a caravan park
• A caravan owned by you in a caravan park
• A rooming house for women
• A room rented from a landlord that isn't known to you personally
• An Airbnb paid three to six months in advance
• A friend or family member who has a criminal history

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I want to emphasise that for women who have come into contact with the justice system, having these prerequisites is highly unlikely considering that one in three people reported being homeless prior to entering custody.

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I am sure by now that you see that parole housing is nearly impossible to get.

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Trying to rent a house while in prison is laughable and not actually possible. It's not as simple as leaving prison on parole at the earliest possible date.

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After reading the Centre for Innovative Justice, Law and Advocacy Centre for Women and RMIT’s Submissions to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Homelessness, the data shows that over half the prison population is expected to be released into homelessness after serving their whole sentence. The reason for this is that the government is not required to supply housing to prisoners once they finish their whole sentence. They can release women into the community with three nights accommodation in a hotel room. That is where their responsibility finishes.

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Corrections Victoria does not offer transitional housing and community-based housing options for Victoria's most vulnerable women who have been released from prison. We have suffered family violence, trauma and have been treated like trash at the hands of evil people in the community prior to being jailed. We need housing.