Life on the Outside explores a unique approach to curb recidivism

“Accommodation is key to it (rehabilitation). If we look at the recidivism rates of Aboriginal people, they might be released from prison but can not go back to the community where they were picked up from due to some other reason. The saddest thing is that that’s where most of their family are, so it is very hard for them to find someone suitable who could take them in.” – Alby

Aboriginal man Alby features in Life on the Outside, a three-parts documentary series exploring a unique approach  to prevent former inmates' likelihood to relapse into criminal behaviour.

Life on the Outside was inspired by an initiative in the United States tackling recidivism with new episodes Wednesday 8.30pm on SBS or stream the series on SBS On Demand.

The series follows a similar approach in a world-television first placing formerly incarcerated people in households for the first 100 days of their release from prison, as a circuit breaker to help turn their lives around.

Life on the Outside also features people, including Alby, with a lived experience of prison and its aftermath who offer insight into the difficulties ex-prisoners face when trying to reintegrate into society, and how support on the outside is a crucial step in reducing the likelihood of reoffence.