https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/183c74o/what_happens_if_you_are_released_from_prison_and/

I found this Reddit (I know…) forum in which somewhere asked: What Happens if you are released from prison and have nowhere to go? Which is a good question, And I found the answers to be interesting, Now how much of this is true as anyone can lie on the internet, But it could be helpful (With a bucket of salt)

If someone is released from prison, they might get placed in a probation or bail hostel. If they aren't assigned one, their only option is to register at a standard homeless shelter. If the shelter has a waiting list, that person is left sleeping on the streets until a bed opens up.

Users clarify that it completely depends on how you were sectioned under the Mental Health Act:

• Section 3: This type of psychiatric hold comes with mandatory "Section 117 aftercare." This means the state is legally required to make sure you have housing and support sorted out before you leave.
• Section 2: This is a shorter-term hold and does not guarantee aftercare. Because of this loophole, hospitals can and frequently do discharge vulnerable people straight onto the streets with nowhere to go.

When leaving prison, some people are placed in probation or bail hostels as part of their rehabilitation. If they don't get a spot there, they have to register at a homeless hostel, and if there is a waiting list, they are left to sleep on the streets.

It gets worse: sometimes the authorities literally just hand a released person a tent and tell them it is their own responsibility to find somewhere to live. * If that person cannot find a place to live, they are told they are in breach of their release licence conditions for not having a fixed address.

Because of that breach, they get recalled to prison to serve the remainder of their sentence. This means a person can be locked up again for years—not for breaking the law, but simply because they didn't have a home. The sick irony, as one user points out, is that getting sent back to prison is the only way these people can guarantee a bed, a roof, and three meals a day.

Set Up to Fail from Day One

• People are released with barely two days' worth of cash before they are left completely on the street.
• Because they are homeless, have a criminal record, and often suffer from severe mental health issues or raging drug addictions, their chances of getting a job are practically zero.
• With basically no other choices left to survive, roughly 25% of people end up right back in prison within 12 months.

The False Economy

• The government refuses to pay for housing and support for newly released people to "save the taxpayer money".
• However, this completely backfires, as the taxpayer just ends up footing the massive bill for their future prison sentences and the cost to the victims of their future crimes.

The Norway Comparison