BUNBURY’s Noongar elders group is calling for a halfway house to be established for young indigenous men leaving prison.
The group hopes to start a centre to guide former prisoners back into the community and break the cycle of incarceration for repeat offenders.
Of 304 male-only adults currently incarcerated in the Bunbury Regional Prison, 58 are aboriginal.
Local elder and prison chaplain Dennis Jetta has seen the need first hand.
Visiting prisoners every Monday, Mr Jetta said that indigenous inmates often told them they lacked opportunities on the outside.
“A lot of them say to me ‘they [guards] tell me I’m going home soon, but this is my home – I’ve got three meals a day, I’ve got work to do and a bed’,” Mr Jetta said.
Bunbury inmates currently take part in projects and yard work while inside, but have little direction once released.
Mr Jetta said this could mean young men leave and return to old habits, such as substance abuse and offending.
South West district superintendent Peter Hatch said from a policing perspective it was about preventing offences in the first place.
“In terms of indigenous youth, we do engage with them and their families to prevent offending,” superintendent Hatch said.
The Bunbury Mail sat down with local Maamun Dandjoo Koorliny Waankininy men’s group earlier this month.
Group member Clem Jetta said going to prison meant young men learnt about their culture and family history, where they might not on the outside.
“If a young bloke goes to jail he has a lot of family that’s going to talk and listen to him and respect him because of his old man and grandfather’s past,” Mr Jetta said.
“Our aim is to give them incentives when they get out of jail, show them where they can get work, maybe take them out into the bush and back to their culture.”
Dennis Jetta said he wanted to see the halfway house program incorporate the men’s group, the local government, judicial system and indigenous support groups.
He said encouraging respect for elders and creating role models in the community would help break the cycle.