One only has to watch the film Shawshank Redemption to see that convicts who are released and told to reintegrate in society could be facing a tall, if not impossible, order.

In the film, the character Brooks Hatlen is a prison librarian/trustee and one of the oldest and longest serving convicts at Shawshank. Upon his release, he finds himself unable to cope with life on the outside, and soon commits suicide, having hung himself in his room after having meticulously tidied up in prison style. During his time on the inside, Brooks Hatlen reforms and mellows through age, becoming a true repentant offender and was definitely fit for release.

Of course, this is only a film, a fictitious story. But it does drive home the seriousness of what released offenders have to adjust to after a stretch inside.

We refer only to offenders who have indeed reformed and are fit to go back into society of course, but the first thing that we should keep in mind when addressing this issue is that people who are sentenced to prison time have no sense of direction at the time.

Once they are in prison, those who truly make an effort to change their ways find some form of structure to their lives. They are given jobs to do in the Corradino Correctional Facility, they have a routine and must stick to it, and they might be given counselling or a drug rehab course. This gives them the basic ingredients that everyone needs – routine, a sense of direction, a sense of self discipline and stability along with specialised treatment – be it to treat addiction or a violent streak.

Now, what we must do is try and put ourselves in that person’s shoes upon their release. Imagine, you have been given this stability and have come to rely on it. You work and you study, temptation is far away. The next morning, you are sleeping in your own home or rented accommodation. You might feel apprehensive at night because your bedroom does not have the ‘security’ of a cell. You no longer have to queue up for your breakfast and wait for the roll call to go to work. You have to do it all yourself.

Add to that the temptations of freely available drugs, alcohol and the urge to sit around and do nothing. It must be a culture shock to the extreme.

We acknowledge that the government intends to restructure existing departments and agencies to help monitor, mentor and guide released offenders, but we must address the same problem that many countries around the world have – the stigma against former inmates by the general public.

It sticks, people judge you for it, you may be discriminated against and you may even be shunned for it. But if one truly had to think deeply, it must surely take an immense effort to go from zero to reintegration.

The government has put forward its proposals for the White Paper on Restorative Justice and this is positive. On Tuesday night, heartrending stories were heard from family members of people whose loved ones are either still inside or have been released and are struggling. One story was told about a man whose son is due for release and does not yet know that his wife will not take him back – that is her prerogative, but this man will definitely need help to stay on track without a wife to return to.

Always assuming that such people have mended their ways, we, as a people should do more to help them back into the fold. They have served their time and if they truly want to make the effort to live a normal life, they should be given every possible opportunity to do so.