More than three out of four prison inmates are worried about their future and two of three feel that prison is not preparing them for life beyond bars, a study at Corradino Correctional Facility (CCF) has shown.

A taster of the study, that Mid-Dlam Għad- Dawl (MDD) will be releasing later this year, was given during the conference The Ex-Prisoner: Labelled For Ever? that strongly highlighted the stigma and hardships faced by inmates on their release.

As prisoners walk out of jail many feel out of place and their already low self esteem is exacerbated by the constant challenges they have to face to reintegrate into society. They find it difficult to be accepted back in society and also have problems finding accommodation and employment, MDD coordinator Matthew Agius said during the conference.

Every year between 150 and 200 inmates leave prison. "All of them have a right to be helped," Mr Agius said. While touching on the importance of introducing the parole system (which MDD has been lobbying for for several years) he added that there should be more emphasis on the psychiatric and educational elements in prison.

In January MDD circulated a questionnaire among 211 of the 406-strong prison population and found that (of the 211) only 19 learned a trade while in prison, 34 studied an academic subject and 114 worked inside jail.

Opportunities to attend courses were rare and only 12 prisoners were following a course such as those offered by the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC). Not all inmates in all divisions were eligible to attend educational programmes or work.

In line with this, Social Policy Minister John Dalli said he believed that more emphasis ought to be placed on the education and formation of inmates while in jail, as this would prepare them for life in society.

Society was not prepared to take ex-inmates, and this needed to be addressed.

Mr Dalli said he would do his best to ensure that the path of inmates, as they reintegrated into society, was as smooth as possible.

One of the first problems ex-prisoners faced was accommodation, a subject tackled by Dar Suret il-Bniedem coordinator Charles Mifsud. Through his experience at the home for the homeless he had observed how, apart from being labelled as ex-prisoners, some former inmates faced the stigma of being homeless.

"On leaving jail they live a big trauma. On one hand they are happy to be free but they then find themselves outside - a larger form of open prison - where they feel lost, are judged and do not know anyone, or those they do know are often those who contributed to sending them to jail," he said.

Another problem former inmates faced was finding jobs. ETC employment advisor Antoinette Camilleri said employers often asked for a guarantee and questioned why the inmate had been in jail.

Job applicants with a drug problem were those mostly shunned because employers believed they would steal from them to sustain their habit. Some employers were also concerned that other employees would abuse the fact that an ex-convict was among them, blaming such a person for their own abuse. They also lamented that insurances did not cover ex-prisoners, and that clients sometimes objected to their employment.

Ms Camilleri said that former inmates faced a variety of problems when it came to looking for jobs.

Some were discriminated against at work and paid less than their colleagues. They often struggled to find employment due to illiteracy or low computer literacy, and some perceived courses as a waste of time while others preferred not to work rather than be paid a pittance.

"Some people I come across are labelled (because they are ex-prisoners) but some use that label to their advantage in order to avoid going to work. These few are doing great harm to the others as the action of one person badly reflects on 100 other genuine people," she said.

During the well-attended conference a wide spectrum of guest speakers touched on the various facets that impacted the future of inmates.

The head of the Prison Inmates' Programme (Pin) within the St Anne rehabilitation centre, Charles Miceli, outlined problems faced by those being offered aftercare that was often disrupted by never-ending court cases or by old cases initiated after their rehabilitation.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera spoke about the significance of punishment in criminal law, which had been changed over the years and was now restorative in nature.

CCF director Sandro Gatt explained that, although prisoners were "not saints", they were human beings and many had to face the problem of their incarceration over and above the worries that their families outside the prison walls had to face.

"I've seen and heard inmates cry in my office," he said. Mr Gatt said he often came across former inmates who found it very difficult to adapt to the world outside CCF walls.

"I've often met ex-prisoners who crave the comfort offered by prison," he said.