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Simon Fenech is the General Manager/Director at social enterprise Fruit2Work in Victoria. His transformation from a drug addict, buried deep in Australia’s criminal underworld, to an inspirational figure, intent on changing the lives of others, is remarkable. Simon’s leadership at Fruit2Work earnt him the nomination for a prestigious national award that recognises positive impact on the lives of others.
As soon as possible, try and mend as many bridges as you can. While you’re in the right frame of mind under no influences or nothing, take the opportunity to pick up the phone or write a letter. Pick who you’re going to come home to. You know who are the right influences in your life and who aren’t. If you are planning on doing the right thing, you’re not going to go moving in with one of your dealer’s mates, right? You’re gonna go with where there’s some stability and normality … It’s about making sure you spend that time and effort while you’re inside to foster good relationships, safe relationships, so that on the outside you’re less likely to flip into the rest.
You need that for two reasons. One, you might need a parole address. Two, there’s nothing better than having support when you come home. When I was in prison, they would ask me, “Have you got support when you go home?” And I’d say, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” But I didn’t. I thought by telling them that I had support when I came home it would make it easier, it would look better for me. In actual fact, what I did was cut my nose off to spite my face because then there was really no hope when I first came home.
If the prison has some sort of pre-employment programs, I would investigate those. I know in Victoria they do in a few of the prisons, and a lot of times you’re lined up with a job before you come home.
The first couple of weeks when you come home are probably the hardest. You have been away for a long period of time, been off everything, temptation is there, you bump into old friends. But, if you’re going to do the same shit as you did before jail, guess what’s going to happen?
You need to try something new. Meeting new people, talking about different stuff and putting your mind in a different place is a big help.
There’s nothing better than you coming home and you walk straight into a job and you meet new people and you do different stuff. But it isn’t going to be easy. When I came home, I thought I would be able to go straight back to a normal good life if I did the right thing. There are struggles when you come home – your shit gets stolen, your girlfriend runs off … It’s not as easy as you expect. But it’s super important that you stick to the right road because, you do the right thing, good things come your way.
From my experience, the best results I have seen are the ones that actually isolate themselves from the people who caused trouble.
There is an old saying: “If you sit in a barber’s chair long enough, you will get a haircut.” In other words, if you think that you can go hang around some old acquaintances and not do what you used to do, sooner or later that will happen.
Key to this is: don’t use. It’s clear as day. You’ve just spent time away. Your system is fairly clean. Don’t go back to that world, because, if you think you can delve in that world and not go back to jail, you’re fooling yourself.
When I was away, a guy came in from AA, Alcoholics Anonymous, and he said something to me, and I treat it as gospel and I teach everybody the same saying, and it really works:
“When you come home, try your life for six months without alcohol or drugs. If it’s not any better, you can go back to that other life. What have you got to lose?”
But I guarantee you, if you don’t use drugs or alcohol, your life will be a hundred times better.
I’m not going to educate you all about the dangers of using and your tolerance levels and all of the above. Don’t put yourself in that position. If you’re on a treatment program, like methadone or suboxone, stick to it. Try to reduce it. But don’t use – by using, you’re not only committing an offence but you’re falling back into your old world again. Try to do it straight.
Take one day and one problem at a time. When I came home, all my stuff was stolen. I didn’t really have a place to live, didn’t have a licence and I couldn’t get a job. I had to do 380 hours of community work, drug and alcohol programs, mental health programs, urine screens at the drop of a hat, see my case worker – it all seemed too hard. Going back to prison seemed easier, but it was not. That was for 18 months, and in the first three months I thought I wasn’t going to succeed, that it was going to go so slowly, but it actually flew by.
The first three months are intensive when you come home with parole and corrections orders. Then they start to ease and you get through that order and nobody owns you anymore. Then you are really free. It’s the best feeling in the world.
You’ve just spent all this time away, locked up. Now you’re home, you’ve still got some hoops to jump through, so you’re not entirely free, but you’re on the way to being free. Just do what you have to do. Get it done. Make sure you pick up that phone if you’re late for an appointment, make sure you communicate. It is the key. Otherwise you get breached. If you get breached, you’re going back inside.
It’s the basic stuff that made such a difference, right? I got a breach the first two times because I never picked up the phone. I avoided the phone calls coming. I couldn’t get to my parole appointment. Then all these things breached me.
Set yourself up before you come home. Do the very best that you can. When you come home, have a good crack at doing the right thing. And it’s not going to be easy. You’re gonna have your good days and your bad days, but, if you stick with it, it will be worthwhile.
Simon Fenech is the General Manager/Director at social enterprise Fruit2Work in Victoria. His transformation from a drug addict, buried deep in Australia’s criminal underworld, to an inspirational figure, intent on changing the lives of others, is remarkable. Simon’s leadership at Fruit2Work earnt him the nomination for a prestigious national award that recognises positive impact on the lives of others.
As soon as possible, try and mend as many bridges as you can. While you’re in the right frame of mind under no influences or nothing, take the opportunity to pick up the phone or write a letter. Pick who you’re going to come home to. You know who are the right influences in your life and who aren’t. If you are planning on doing the right thing, you’re not going to go moving in with one of your dealer’s mates, right? You’re gonna go with where there’s some stability and normality … It’s about making sure you spend that time and effort while you’re inside to foster good relationships, safe relationships, so that on the outside you’re less likely to flip into the rest.
You need that for two reasons. One, you might need a parole address. Two, there’s nothing better than having support when you come home. When I was in prison, they would ask me, “Have you got support when you go home?” And I’d say, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” But I didn’t. I thought by telling them that I had support when I came home it would make it easier, it would look better for me. In actual fact, what I did was cut my nose off to spite my face because then there was really no hope when I first came home.
If the prison has some sort of pre-employment programs, I would investigate those. I know in Victoria they do in a few of the prisons, and a lot of times you’re lined up with a job before you come home.
The first couple of weeks when you come home are probably the hardest. You have been away for a long period of time, been off everything, temptation is there, you bump into old friends. But, if you’re going to do the same shit as you did before jail, guess what’s going to happen?
You need to try something new. Meeting new people, talking about different stuff and putting your mind in a different place is a big help.
There’s nothing better than you coming home and you walk straight into a job and you meet new people and you do different stuff. But it isn’t going to be easy. When I came home, I thought I would be able to go straight back to a normal good life if I did the right thing. There are struggles when you come home – your shit gets stolen, your girlfriend runs off … It’s not as easy as you expect. But it’s super important that you stick to the right road because, you do the right thing, good things come your way.
From my experience, the best results I have seen are the ones that actually isolate themselves from the people who caused trouble.
There is an old saying: “If you sit in a barber’s chair long enough, you will get a haircut.” In other words, if you think that you can go hang around some old acquaintances and not do what you used to do, sooner or later that will happen.
Key to this is: don’t use. It’s clear as day. You’ve just spent time away. Your system is fairly clean. Don’t go back to that world, because, if you think you can delve in that world and not go back to jail, you’re fooling yourself.
When I was away, a guy came in from AA, Alcoholics Anonymous, and he said something to me, and I treat it as gospel and I teach everybody the same saying, and it really works:
“When you come home, try your life for six months without alcohol or drugs. If it’s not any better, you can go back to that other life. What have you got to lose?”
But I guarantee you, if you don’t use drugs or alcohol, your life will be a hundred times better.
I’m not going to educate you all about the dangers of using and your tolerance levels and all of the above. Don’t put yourself in that position. If you’re on a treatment program, like methadone or suboxone, stick to it. Try to reduce it. But don’t use – by using, you’re not only committing an offence but you’re falling back into your old world again. Try to do it straight.
Take one day and one problem at a time. When I came home, all my stuff was stolen. I didn’t really have a place to live, didn’t have a licence and I couldn’t get a job. I had to do 380 hours of community work, drug and alcohol programs, mental health programs, urine screens at the drop of a hat, see my case worker – it all seemed too hard. Going back to prison seemed easier, but it was not. That was for 18 months, and in the first three months I thought I wasn’t going to succeed, that it was going to go so slowly, but it actually flew by.
The first three months are intensive when you come home with parole and corrections orders. Then they start to ease and you get through that order and nobody owns you anymore. Then you are really free. It’s the best feeling in the world.
You’ve just spent all this time away, locked up. Now you’re home, you’ve still got some hoops to jump through, so you’re not entirely free, but you’re on the way to being free. Just do what you have to do. Get it done. Make sure you pick up that phone if you’re late for an appointment, make sure you communicate. It is the key. Otherwise you get breached. If you get breached, you’re going back inside.
It’s the basic stuff that made such a difference, right? I got a breach the first two times because I never picked up the phone. I avoided the phone calls coming. I couldn’t get to my parole appointment. Then all these things breached me.
Set yourself up before you come home. Do the very best that you can. When you come home, have a good crack at doing the right thing. And it’s not going to be easy. You’re gonna have your good days and your bad days, but, if you stick with it, it will be worthwhile.
Feeling isolated and lonely is very common after you’ve left prison. In prison you didn’t expect to open up to people and enjoy their company. Now you’re outside, it takes time to relax and be friendly to people.
If you’re returning to your partner, it’s normal to feel anxious about living together again. Talk about your hopes and plans before release and keep talking once you go home. Listen to them, and get help early if you’re having relationship problems.
We all need identification. Identification (or ID) is a document that proves who you are.
Getting a job after prison is hard for most people. If you had a job before you went in, you may not be able to go back to it, or you might not want to.
I was released about four weeks ago and I was quite stressed. To be completely honest, I didn't really want to leave. The truth is, I loved prison and it became part of my identity.
Getting a job after prison is hard for most people. If you had a job before you went in, you may not be able to go back to it, or you might not want to.
For many of us, the idea of re-entering society after incarceration can feel like standing at a crossroad, unsure of which way to go.
As well as feeling excited about your release, you may also be feeling fearful that something will go wrong so that your release will be delayed, or that you won’t be able to make it once you’re released.
Help keep the momentum going. All donations will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.
All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. If you would like to pay directly into our bank account to avoid the processing fee, please contact donate@abouttime.org.au. ABN 67 667 331 106.
Help us get About Time off the ground. All donations are tax deductible and will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.
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