15th Reintegration Puzzle Conference

Holistic AOD work after prison and building pathways into the community: A panel discussion featuring CRC staff with both professional expertise and lived experience of the criminal justice system.

This panel discussion will showcase the work of the Community Restorative Centre’s AOD outreach team and explore the experience and specialist expertise of staff who also have lived experience of the criminal justice system. Employing people in a professional capacity who have themselves experienced imprisonment and/or workforce discrimination on the basis of criminal records is now a deliberate service delivery strategy at CRC. This strategy recognises the enormous value of combining both professional expertise with the expertise acquired through lived experience. The AOD service at CRC has won multiple awards in NSW for its holistic approach to working with populations after prison, including the 2018 NSW Association for Alcohol and other Drugs ‘Excellence in Treatment’ award. This panel discussion will overview the AOD team’s work in and out of prisons, explore ‘what works’ when supporting people with multiple and complex support needs after prison, and also discuss what it means for men and women leaving custody to have the support of someone who has also experienced incarceration. Particular attention will be paid to the development of an identity outside of the criminal justice system for populations who have frequently spent much of their lives being managed inside prisons. Featuring the candid, up-front and experienced group of AOD workers, this panel will be hosted by AOD Transition team Manager Paul Hardy, and aims to stimulate thought and discussion about the role of people with lived experience and the challenges faced by people with multiple support needs (including alcohol and other drug issues) when they leave prison.