On the ROADS to recovery

The Released Offender Alcohol and Drug Support (ROADS) is a trial project offered to people who have recently been released from prison with an identified history of substance use.

The program offers multi-session telephone support during the first month of release with clients being contacted in the first 48 hours of release. The aim of the program is to reduce associated harms in relation to substance use on release from prison.

A range of different mediums were used to capture feedback and thoughts from people in the development and the evaluation of this trial program. The project team consulted people with lived experience, asking for their insights on the period of release from jail and substance use concerns, to inform the content and resources. In addition, the Alcohol and Drug Service Client Advisory Committee was consulted to provide feedback on the ROADS client resources and the program content.

After the initial trial, the project team conducted a 1-month follow-up via telephone calls to check in with participants, ask for feedback on the program and explore areas of improvement. To increase the diversity of client feedback, Brisbane North and Caboolture Community Corrections organised two focus groups which were then facilitated by the Queensland Health Project Lead, Heidi Deifel-Carlino and the Project Officer, Michaela Boyce. This resulted in better access to clients and being able to hear opinions of people who are considered ‘hard to reach’.

Importantly clients were asked to identify opportunities to reach this population, provided information on what support is currently available inside Correctional Centres and the community and commented on how accessible this support is for them. Clients also provided their knowledge on substance use that occurs within Correctional Centres and their thoughts on alcohol and drug programs offered.

Clients identified that the program was worthwhile and recommended the program to continue. They reported that being contacted over the phone in the first 48 hours of release was not something they had ever experienced before, and it was nice to know people care.

“I felt that someone was holding your hand through the first few weeks of release”. – ROADS client

“These sessions are working! I have a job interview this afternoon and I’m feeling so motivated. I was looking forward to the session today.”- ROADS client

Clients reported that they face many stressors when release, such as finances, accommodation, being around old associates and looking for employment which could mean that people return to previous patterns of substance use to ease stress. It was reported that being contacted by their counsellor over the phone was comfortable, flexible, and made engagement easy, saving clients time and money as they did not have to travel to face-to-face appointments. Clients also found that having someone to talk to, bounce ideas off, affirm their goals and decisions, resulted in increased self-confidence. Taking part in the ROADS program helped keep people on track and it was also a simple avenue to satisfy Community Correction order conditions.

2022 Updates

As a result of the ROADS trial ADIS (alcohol and drug support) continues to implement learnings from the program trial.

The ROADS program is not currently being offered, though supporting people with substance use concerns released from custodial settings continues to be a priority area for ADIS.