The Need of More Halfway Houses as Transit to Reduce Homelessness amongst Former Prisoners in Malaysia
Keywords:
former prisoners, homeless, halfway houses, re-integration, crime repetitionAbstract
Fundamentally, former prisoners who have no access to transit home or residency after being released from prison are often found to be homeless. In this manner, such failure to obtain a home has been commonly associated with family rejection. The existing halfway houses throughout Malaysia are limited, therefore, the program failed to accommodate a large number of released former prisoners each year. In lieu of this, many former inmates are unable to acquire proper shelter or a suitable place to live after their release. Due to the arising concern, a study was conducted in 2018 with regards to the former prisoners’ life challenges during the re-integration process within the community. Detailed interviews were carried amongst 19 former prisoners with their background of criminal records. In addition, the analysis from this study revealed the difficulties and challenges faced by the former prisoners that had led them to be homeless. The data had also revealed that the issue is related to the absence of residency as well as family rejection. Subsequently, the findings provided evidence-based for authorities to address the current issues as well as established more halfway houses in assisting the re-integration process. Furthermore, critical understanding of the needs and living with economic hardships amongst former prisoners will indeed be a good steer to initiate the development of effective post-release and advanced care programs in supervising and guiding former prisoners to abide by the law of Malaysia.
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References
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