Prepare while still in prison

A sentence plan is drawn up for every prisoner, and it is supplemented before release with a release plan. This assesses what you need in order to cope once you are out, and it is made where necessary in cooperation with the social, health, housing and employment authorities in your home municipality. Make use of this: the more that has been prepared in advance, the easier the day of release will be.

Ask the prison social worker for help with listing matters and making applications. Many organisations also visit prisons and help you already before release. Write down which matters are still unresolved and who is responsible for what.

Housing — the most important and most urgent

Housing is the single most important thing, because much else becomes more complicated without an address. It can be hard for a person with a criminal background to get a rented home, so it is worth starting to look early and through several routes at once.

• Apply about 3 months before release for homes from the city and municipal rental companies, and look at private landlords' listings.
• The Y-Foundation and other foundations that rent out homes are often the most realistic route — ask the prison social worker about these.
• Supported housing can be a good first step. Through it you are more likely to move on to a home of your own later. Supported housing is offered by, among others, RETS.
• If you are at risk of homelessness, contact the social services in your home municipality and the housing advice service straight away — do not wait. Homelessness can be prevented when you tell about it in time.

Income: Kela and social assistance

If you are released without income, you are entitled to social assistance. The most important tip: make the application in advance, not only on the day of release.

• Submit a social assistance application to Kela in advance. Kela must give a decision within 7 working days, so submit the application at least a couple of weeks before release. The basic amount is calculated from the day of release.
• Kela first, the wellbeing services county second. Basic social assistance is paid by Kela. If you need supplementary support, for example for clothing or household items, apply to Kela first anyway and ask Kela to transfer the application to your home municipality.
• Register as a jobseeker. If you need unemployment security or intend to apply for social assistance in future too, register as an unemployed jobseeker with the municipal employment services.
• Check the housing allowance. Once you have an address, apply to Kela for housing allowance towards the rent.

Identity documents and banking

Without an identity document and a bank account, daily life gets stuck straight away — they are needed to rent a home, to have benefits paid out and for almost all dealings with authorities. Get these in order as soon as possible.

• An identity card or passport is applied for from the police (poliisi.fi or a police station). Book an appointment in good time, as delivery takes a while.
• A bank account and online banking credentials are worth sorting out already before release. Everyone has the right to a basic payment account. Online banking credentials (or other strong authentication) are needed for dealing with authorities.
• The funds on the prison payment card are transferred to your bank account on release. If you do not have a bank account, you get the money in cash.

Debts and enforcement

Debts do not disappear during imprisonment, and many people are released with debts. An important order of things: first get housing, income and daily life in order — and only then start sorting out your debts calmly. Otherwise the debt spiral easily starts again. Sorting out debts is never wasted effort, though.

• Call the free Debt Line: 0800 9 8009. From the Guarantee Foundation's Debt Line you get advice on sorting out your debt situation. It is worth seeking help as soon as it feels right.
• Enforcement does not prevent work. In enforcement, a protected portion is always left for you to live on. It is worth going to work even if you have enforcement — paying debts through enforcement shows willingness to pay and helps later if you apply for debt adjustment.
• Financial and debt counselling is free and helps with sorting out the whole situation and with payment plans (oikeus.fi).
• The RETS ombudsman gives free social-law advice on debt, income and benefit matters: call 050 3447 582 or send an email to kam@rets.fi.
• First sort out your whole debt situation so that you get an overall picture. Only after that is it worth looking for a final solution, such as debt adjustment.

Work, study and a meaningful daily life

Experts by experience say that the hardest thing for someone leaving prison is an empty calendar. Meaningful activity and a support network are as important as housing and money — they keep you anchored in your new life.

• Register as a jobseeker with the municipal employment services (employment area). There you get help with looking for work, work trials or rehabilitation.
• Criminal records extract. For some tasks — for example working with children or young people — the employer asks for a criminal records extract. Many jobs do not require one.
• Studying is possible in many ways, and as a student you are entitled to Kela's benefits. Ask about the options at the employment services or the educational institution.
• Look for meaningful activity and peer support straight away. Organisations' daytime activities, groups and volunteering give your daily life rhythm and new relationships.

Support for substance abuse and mental health

If substances or your mental health weigh you down, help is available — and you do not have to seek it alone. The release period is a sensitive time, so make sure that rehabilitation started in prison continues once you are out.

• The wellbeing services county's substance abuse and mental health services and the A-Clinics help with a low threshold. Get in touch straight away if it feels like your strength is running out.
• Continuation of opioid substitution treatment is worth securing already before release, so that treatment is not interrupted.
• Peer support groups such as AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) and NA (Narcotics Anonymous), and organisations' drug-free meeting places, offer support and company.

Help and peer support

No one gets through release alone, and no one has to. You can contact these organisations free of charge — many of them exist specifically for people with a criminal and substance-use background, and among the staff and peer facilitators are people who have been through the same thing themselves.

Important contact details gathered together