Bars Behind Me: One woman’s mission to help her sisters shift from prison to purpose

A year ago, Barbara Brennan walked out of prison with nothing — no home, no job, and a daughter to care for.

Instead of letting it defeat her, she turned her experience into hope, launching Bars Behind Me, a grassroots initiative helping Aboriginal women in similar situations break the cycle of incarceration and rebuild their lives with dignity and purpose.

Barbara said the organisation involved everything from a penpal program where women in the community wrote to women in prison as a way of giving hope, through to picking them up at the prison gate to help them find housing and employment.

The mother-of-four said she was sent to prison for shoplifting, but was released as a single mum needing to care for her 11-year-old daughter and having lost her home and everything she owned.

“I knew I was getting out to nothing. I knew we had nowhere to live,” she said.

Barbara said while the housing crisis was a problem for everyone, those coming out of prison faced even tougher challenges.

For her, it resulted in couch surfing with her daughter, putting them in compromising situations until Supported Accommodation and Homelessness Services Shoalhaven Illawarra (SAHSSI) placed them into temporary accommodation in Dapto.

“I’m so grateful to SAHSSI, because I felt like I had a minute to gather my thoughts and be able to put one foot in front of the other,” she said.

She said stepping outside the prison gates came with myriad challenges.

“When you go from a criminal lifestyle – a criminal lifestyle is getting what you want, when you want, however you need to get it – you need support to be able to transition from that,” she said.

Barbara said those in prison for long periods also had to adapt to the real world again, having come from a lifestyle where they were constantly monitored; had a routine and structure of when they could eat, wash and dress; and were always on high alert, as anything could “kick off” between inmates.

“So you’re in this really hypervigilant state and then when they put you out the gate, it’s just crickets,” she said.

“How are you meant to put one foot in front of the other in the right way, so that you don’t end up back there?

“If women coming out of prison don’t know how to do this, then I want to be that noise to stop the crickets. I want to be that noise that says, ‘Hey sisters, I’m over here. This is where we can go. This is what we can do’.

“And so I developed the Bars Behind Me concept.”

Bars Behind Me focuses on addressing the unique challenges faced by formerly incarcerated women, many of whom are dealing with trauma, stigma, and a lack of support.

However, her path to start the organisation actually began 20 years earlier, when she was led into community service after experiencing a similar situation.

“I was a heroin addict 20 years ago, ended up in prison, and then I got clean off the heroin, and I went to TAFE and started studying community service,” she said.

She undertook diplomas and certificates in community service and drug and alcohol support.

“Everything that I was doing was always a step in the direction of advocacy and support for Aboriginal women coming out of prison,” she said.

Barbara said since being released last year, she had connected with the Woolyungah Indigenous Centre at the University of Wollongong, and was encouraged to complete an Indigenous Trauma Informed Response Practice post-graduate certificate.

“That certificate opened my eyes,” she said.

“I actually felt like the naked model that was sitting on a pedestal while the rest of my classmates were researching my life and painting me.”

However, she said the research and art therapy helped her understand her life and trauma triggers.

“I do want better. I’ve had enough of that lifestyle,” she said.

“I want my daughter to have the best life that a young girl can have, and I want my grandson to have the best memories of me.”

While she knew there were many support groups around, she said not all catered for Aboriginal women with complex issues, traumas and behaviours.

“I feel like my sisters on the grassroots level are not going to walk into that building and say ‘Sister, I need help,’” she said.

“I then decided with my major activity for uni, that I was going to create what Bars Behind Me would look like.”

Barbara maintained contact with women in the prison after her release and connected with those being released, prompting her to establish a daily online support group where women share their struggles, set goals, and celebrate achievements.

She said this sense of community and accountability was crucial for helping them stay on track.

“It’s about remaining in the day and not trying to project too much into the future,” she said.

“When you start projecting, it can just get so out of control.”

Some of the women in the group were able to secure homes but their gardens were becoming overgrown, prompting the start of a gardening arm.

“I wanted Bars Behind Me to have an element of employment for women, so the women coming out of prison could jump on tools and earn some money,” she said.

“Then on Fridays, we’ll go and do yards for free for vulnerable or elderly people in our Aboriginal community.”

Since posting on Facebook asking for donations of a petrol mower and whipper snipper, support for the cause had “blown up”.

As Bars Behind Me continues to grow, Barbara is now focused on establishing a board, securing funding and attracting partnerships to expand the organisation’s reach.

Partnerships so far include Dress For Success, where women are dressed for work and housing interviews to avoid biases and build confidence, and the four major NSW women’s prisons where she hopes to expand the penpal program to video calls.

She said video would be an opportunity for the women to hear stories of hope and what was possible for them – like Barbara’s own story.

She whispers: “I mean, if I can do it, anyone can do it. That’s the biggest secret I have right now.”