At Release Mates, we don't like conventional terms such as "aftercare" or "outreach". We feel they can contribute towards stigma. The help we provide to prison leavers in the months following their release is carried out by Abby's Army. We felt that Release Mates has more to offer than just day of release support so we expanded it to include a more comprehensive and complete package.

Each prison leaver we support is allocated a member from our team who they can call any time. As we are a person's first contact with the outside world after prison, we become trusted. We can build on this trust by supporting people further on the journey. Release Mates speaks to each person we support daily in their first week back in the community and gradually reduce this over a six month period. 

In this time, we regularly visit people in-person to help get to job interviews, appointments, or just for a good old fashioned chat. 

The aim of Abby's Army is to keep people engaged with statutory services and to help them find new opportunities. 

As always, lived experience is at the core of Abby's Army. It is important for people to speak with others who have already been on their journey. Release Mates is there for every setback and every success.