By Coralie Nichols, CEO, Embrace People & Place
When we talk about community safety, we often focus on policing, sentencing, or the circumstances that lead someone to offend. What we talk about far less is what happens after a woman leaves prison — and how critical that moment is in shaping not just her future, but the well-being of her family and the wider community.
Most women who enter custody carry long histories of disadvantage. Many have experienced family violence, homelessness, financial insecurity, or trauma that stretches back years. For a significant number, these experiences are what pushed them into crisis long before they ever entered the justice system. And when women leave custody without a safe place to go, without income, without support, the risk of returning to those same unsafe environments is incredibly high.
Here in the Hunter, we have seen that cycle play out too many times. And we have also seen what’s possible when a woman is met with stability, respect and genuine support.
That’s why yesterday’s launch of the Women in Community Program matters. This new pilot, operated by Embrace People & Place and supported by a significant philanthropic investment from the Ian & Shirley Norman Foundation, offers something women in our region have needed for a long time: a structured, long-term, locally grounded pathway home.
The program works in two parts. First, women receive six months of pre-release support focused on planning for safe housing, securing employment opportunities, and understanding what they will need to thrive once they return to the community.
Then, for up to two years post-release, they live and work within a supported environment designed to help them rebuild their lives in ways that are sustainable, not short-term.
This model recognises what the evidence consistently tells us: that stable accommodation, employment, connection and time are essential for reducing recidivism. It also acknowledges the real pressures facing First Nations women, who are significantly overrepresented in the justice system.
By prioritising First Nations women and incorporating traditional knowledge and healing practices, the program aims to create a place where safety, culture and community are at the centre.
I have worked across government and community for many years, and one thing has become clear: when we invest in people, we invest in the strength of the whole region. Supporting women to return to community life with dignity is not just the “right thing to do”; it contributes directly to safer, more connected, more resilient communities.
The women who will take part in this program are not statistics. They are mothers, daughters, workers, neighbours. They deserve the chance to make choices that lead to stability and independence — and our community deserves a system that actually helps them get there.
We often talk about wanting a more compassionate Hunter. This program reflects what that looks like in practice: local organisations working together, government willing to try new approaches, philanthropy stepping in to create possibility, and a region prepared to walk alongside women as they rebuild.
If we want to reduce reoffending, break cycles of violence, and create lasting safety, then we need to pay attention to moments of transition. That is where change happens — and where a community’s values are most visible.
The Women in Community Program gives us the opportunity to show who we are as a region: a place that believes in dignity, second chances, and the potential of every person who calls the Hunter home.
