Tahlia Isaac

So it was really challenging and I could have just, you know, kept my Facebook open, for example, but I turned it off and I didn't contact anyone.

I didn't have – I didn't go and collect debts that were owed to me so I could start fresh and I didn't like –

try and go and collect any of my belongings that were on the Gold Coast.

I just had to let it all go.

But lots of people don't.

Well, you know, like there's a whole – like, you know, when you get out of prison, it took a long time to feel normal again.

And COVID happened, and I thought I just started to get my life sort of pieced together, and COVID happened, and I just kind of went, well –

what am I going to do now?

So I jumped in my car and I went on a road trip and met my, my now hubby.

And, um, we've got two beautiful babies and like live this really beautiful life.

And I studied, I did a year of my master's of law and then I did my postgrad in criminology and criminal justice.

And, um, you know, it's, yeah, it's been like seven years now.

So it's been, it's been a crazy wild ride.

Yeah, I felt like I was, I don't know, I felt like this sense of responsibility.

Yeah.

And also it was really challenging to find work with my history and something that felt meaningful.

Yeah.

And so I started kind of talking about what it might look like to – I just wanted to kind of run this post-release program.

I didn't even want to have a whole organization.

I just kind of wanted to, like, do it informally.