Locked Out episode two: housing and the criminal justice system

For people in contact with the criminal justice system, access to safe housing is vital to moving onto independent and stable lives. Yet too many people are trapped in a devastating cycle of homelessness and offending.

In episode two of Locked Out, a new podcast from Commonweal Housing, we are asking: why is it so hard for people in contact with the criminal justice system to access housing, and what needs to change?

To help answer those questions, I sat down (virtually) with my colleague and co-host Megan Fereday, alongside Nicola Drinkwater from Clinks, and Jessica Southgate from Agenda, the alliance for women and girls at risk. 

Building on the themes explored in their contributions to the Locked Out anthology, Nicola and Jess discuss why so many people leave prison into homelessness, and the devastating impact this can have on their lives. We took a particular look at how the Coronavirus pandemic has impacted the justice system, and how all of these issues have a particular impact on women.

Each week we ask guests to talk about one current example of an innovative housing solution to social injustice – for Nicola, that’s schemes to enable people leaving prison access the private rented sector, and for Jess, it’s a Housing First model designed specifically for women.

Listen to all this and more in this week’s episode of Locked Out, and subscribe to get updates on upcoming episodes, coming out every other Wednesday over October, November and December.

Listen to the episode on all podcast streaming platforms, or subscribe on BuzzSprout here: lockedout.buzzsprout.com

Read the Locked Out anthology: commonwealhousing.org.uk/lockedout