The Community Restorative Centre (CRC), provides throughcare, post-release, and reintegration programs to people transitioning from prison back into the community who are struggling with addiction. WentWest supports CRC’s Prison Transition Program and Pathways Home Program in Western Sydney.
Trent* is a young Aboriginal man who has been in and out of custody multiple times throughout his young life and had never previously been provided access to support services.
When Trent joined the CRC program, he was on remand in a Correctional Centre. He had requested his custodial sentence to be referred to NSW Drug Court with the aim of completing it in a Rehabilitation Centre. This would allow him to complete a therapeutic program in the community to support his substance use and health needs.
Trent has significant mental and physical health concerns. As a young child, he was run over by a car, an accident that left him with a brain injury that significantly impacted his day-to-day functions. Previously, Trent’s mother had acted as his primary carer, but when she passed away he was left without a full-time carer. Trent’s siblings were unable to accommodate his support needs, which left Trent in a very vulnerable position.
Since joining the CRC Pathways Home Program, Trent has had his request to transfer to a Residential Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation program approved. His CRC caseworker also advocated and secured funding for Trent to have further assessments to support his National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) application. With the psychometric evaluation completed, the CRC caseworker submit Trent’s NDIS application outlining the support required for him to live alone in the community with appropriate assistance. The CRC caseworker requested that a culturally appropriate NDIS provider be assigned to ensure that Trent receives holistic, intensive, culturally safe services.
The CRC caseworker also helped Trent submit a Housing NSW application to access stable accommodation with the support of NDIS. He has been offered a property to meet his needs and will be moving into his new home after completing the Therapeutic Residential Rehabilitation program.
Pathways Home has connected Trent to men’s programs to provide another avenue for support and guidance in his future. Trent now has the right support services to live safely in the community and get his life back on track.
*Name changed to protect the identity of this client.
Read more about this service: https://www.crcnsw.org.au/
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