Released With £76 and a Dream: The Harsh Reality for Women Leaving Prison in the UK.
For many women leaving prison in the UK, freedom begins with a shockingly small amount of money — often just the statutory release payment of around £76 — and a list of hurdles that can feel almost impossible to overcome. Without a CV, without secure accommodation, without employment prospects, and with under-resourced support services stretched increasingly thin, the path back into society can be a steep and lonely climb.
1. A Handful of Change — And No Safety Net
When women are released from prison, they often leave with their belongings in a plastic bag, a one-off release payment, and no real plan for what comes next. While the release grant can help buy essentials, it disappears fast when weighed against the basics necessary — travel costs, food, toiletries, phone credit and everyday expenses. Many are left having to immediately apply for Universal Credit and other benefits, with little guidance or preparation.
2. Homelessness: A Devastating First Step
One of the starkest barriers to successful reintegration is housing insecurity. Research shows that only just under half of women leaving prison have settled accommodation arranged by the time they are released; the rest face unstable housing or street homelessness.
A lack of safe, stable accommodation isn’t just uncomfortable — it’s debilitating. Without a roof over their heads, women find it harder to access benefits, register with a GP, secure childcare, maintain contact with their children, or even start applying for work.
Some reports have found that up to six in 10 women leave prison homeless or without secure accommodation, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation, unsafe living situations, or a return to conditions that contributed to their offending in the first place.
Imago Dei’s Grace House project will be opening its first 6 bedroomed home with support for women leaving prison in April – we aim to offer a place where the women can reintegrate back into the community well and give them a hope for a better future.
3. Employment: A Wall Too High
Employment is widely recognised as one of the strongest protective factors against reoffending, yet women face severe barriers here too.
Women are far less likely to be employed shortly after release than men — with some older research showing fewer than 1 in 20 women in work six weeks after release compared to over 1 in 10 men.
More recent employment data shows that under a third of people with lived experience of prison nationally, find work six months after release.
A major reason is stigma: nearly half of employers admit they would not hire someone with a criminal conviction, and many simply rule prison leavers out before they even start.
For women in particular — many of whom are sole carers for children — the lack of employment support compounds existing caregiving responsibilities, poverty, and childcare costs, making job hunting feel like climbing a mountain without boots. This is why we have launched our #She Matters Employment Network – we bridge the gap between employers and women with criminal convictions. We don’t just aim to help those recently released but also those still in custody in readiness for release, as well as by educating employers as to the benefits of employing women from the vast talent pool that our prisons hold.
4. CVs, Training and Readiness: The Missing Link
Short sentences make matters worse. Most women in prison serve sentences of less than 12 months, and these short periods behind bars often mean they have little opportunity to engage in training, education, employment preparation, or rehabilitative programming that could help prepare them for life after release.
Without in-prison opportunities to gain qualifications, work experience, or even help building a CV, the already high barriers to employment only get steeper. Our Employment Network runs courses in the prisons, the community, and in women’s centres through Probation. We want to see those figures previously mentioned improved upon.
5. Probation and Other Support Services Under Strain
Probation services — the key bridge between prison and community support — are themselves struggling with heavy caseloads and staffing shortages. As the number of people being released from custody rises, Probation teams face enormous pressure to respond to complex needs: housing, mental health, substance use, family breakdown, debt and employment challenges all fall under their remit.
Where support is supposed to be “joined up,” in reality it can be fragmented and disjointed. Too often referrals arrive late, Probation Officers change frequently, and women lose trust in a system that was supposed to help them transition out of prison.
6. The Cost of Failure: Reoffending and Lost Potential
The stakes of inadequate post-release support aren’t just personal — they’re systemic.
Figures show that around half of women released from prison go on to reoffend within a year, rising even higher for people serving very short sentences.
Housing insecurity dramatically increases the likelihood of reconviction, and those released without settled accommodation are much more likely to return to the Criminal Justice System.
This cycle of release, homelessness, unemployment, and reoffending not only devastates individual lives but burden taxpayers — each time a person re-enters the system, society pays more in policing, courts, imprisonment, and Probation.
What Needs to Change?
The solutions are complex, but experts and front-line organisations broadly agree on several priorities:
Pre-release support plans that secure accommodation and employment opportunities before release.
Expanded housing options, including women-specific supported housing and trauma-informed resettlement services.
Employer engagement and job pathways — from CV support to transitional employment opportunities.
Stronger, better-resourced Probation and community services that can support women holistically
Some initiatives — like targeted employment schemes and additional funding for women’s services — are starting to make inroads. But the gap between resources and need remains wide.
Imago Dei hosts an annual women-specific Criminal Justice Conference creating a space for all those individuals and organisations working across the Criminal Justice sector. This year it will be held on Friday 11 September at St John’s Church, Waterloo.
At Imago Dei we offer an holistic service to women in prison and after release, where they are supported, believed in, and encouraged and where we help potential to grow and those dreams to become a reality.