What we aim to do
Rubicon Gate doesn’t build houses.
We don’t promise accommodation.
We can’t solve homelessness
But we aim to help people on Licence become visible again.
We offer a virtual address for you to use just like a real home address. Providing you some continuity for all your paperwork. That virtual address is a bridge between being physically homeless and the need to exist in a digital world that requires a fixed location for everything.
RUBICON GATE provides a virtual address and mail handling service for anyone who has been referred to us by The Prison or Probation Service.
Enabling the user to
Register for essential services: DWP, Universal Credit, Council Housing Lists
Establish a fixed, stable contact address: Open a bank account, obtain ID, update their driving licence
Receive private and secure mail: GP letters, hospital appointments, legal correspondence
Make forward progress: Apply for jobs or education, send applications and enquiries
…And handle the everyday tasks many take for granted:
Register a TFL Oyster Card for replacements if lost
Register a SIM card to keep their number if a phone is lost or stolen
Sign up for Supermarket Loyalty Cards to save on essential shopping
Receive personal and emotionally valuable communication from family or loved ones
A single address—no matter the circumstance
Whether someone is staying in hostels, shelters, temporary flats, friends’ homes, cars, or even sleeping rough, and regardless of which London Probation Office they report to,
We provide one stable postal address for the entire duration of their licence.
Empowering Change Through Our Services
Once we receive your mail:
There are 2 options which are available:
No 1
We hand-deliver mail weekly to every Probation Office in London ~ for you to collect at your next meeting.
If you do not attend probation regularly, then with your consent, your Probation Office could hold it between meetings.
No 2
We send a text notification whenever mail arrives, and you choose a convenient time to collect it.
until then we hold it securely at our office
Once you are at our office to collect:
Everybody using this service has the option to open their mail in private booths and choose from the following secure handling options
Shred
Photocopy
Scan-to-email
Take it away
They can also store original documents securely with us and use photocopies or digital versions as needed.
Privacy, dignity, and control
At every stage, the service user remains in full control of their communication.
They are the only person who sees their mail.
Service standards
Completely free for the user
GDPR-compliant
Operated by CIPP/E-certified volunteers
Backed by robust privacy safeguarding protocols
Empowering Lives Beyond Bars
Where Stability Starts at the Gate
Rubicon Gate is a lived-experience-led service supporting people leaving prison who face homelessness or housing instability.
We hope to provide a fixed, secure mailing address that follows individuals
throughout their licence period, helping them stay connected, supported, and seen.
Our work is grounded in understanding, not judgement — because we’ve lived it ourselves.
Everybody walks a different path along their rehabilitation journey and we are dedicated to offer support to everybody currently on Probation or still under Licence conditions.
Rubicon Gate CIC is managed by people who have also walked a path and had a ‘Lived Experience’
We are 100% committed to ensure that every person is treated equally. Regardless of their history, background, or protected characteristics.
GateDial is a UK virtual landline + VoIP service built for one purpose: cheaper prison phone calls, so prisoners can stay in touch with family without burning through phone credit.
In most UK prisons, calls to mobile numbers are the most expensive option. GateDial changes the dialled destination by giving you a UK landline number. Your loved one adds that landline to their approved call list (often called a PIN list). When they dial it from the prison phone system, they are billed at the landline rate, and the call reaches you on your chosen device.
This is the same core idea used by multiple “cheap prison calls” services in the UK: a virtual landline number that forwards (diverts) calls to a mobile so the prisoner pays the cheaper landline tariff while the family answers on a mobile. GateDial is built specifically around that reality: approval lists, restricted devices, and the fact the person inside is the one paying per minute.
Our Name
RUBICON
Historically this means the point of no return – crossing it meant there was no going back.
GATE
Self explanatory !!
Once you’re through the prison gate and starting your probation journey – never go back.
Rubicon Gate hopes for one thing:
We believe that the gate should be the start of a new path, not a revolving door.
### What GateDial gives you
A dedicated UK landline number
A real UK landline-format number (01/02/03 ranges depending on availability) that can be added to the
prisoner’s approved numbers list.
Answer on mobile or app
Choose a package that suits how you live:
• calls ring to your mobile like a normal incoming call (call forwarding), or
• calls ring inside the GateDial app over Wi■Fi/data, or
• a hybrid setup.
Simple monthly packages
No complicated “business PBX” menu. GateDial pricing is focused on one outcome: longer conversations
for the same top-ups.
Clear setup support
Guidance for the typical sticking points: verification calls, PIN-list delays, and what to do when a prison
transfer happens.
### Why this matters
A five■minute call shouldn’t feel like a luxury. Families end up rationing contact because credit disappears
fast. The knock-on effect is obvious: fewer updates, more stress, and more disconnection. GateDial exists
because the landline/mobile price gap is real, and there is a clean, practical way to use it: get a landline
number that is approved, then route it to where you actually answer.
### How it works
1) Pick a plan (mobile forwarding, app answering, or hybrid).
2) Get your GateDial number (issued quickly).
3) Add the number to the PIN list (prison approval step).
4) Answer calls your way (mobile/app/desktop depending on package).
5) Talk longer for less (prisoner pays landline rate, not mobile rate).
### Common questions on day one
“Will it work in my prison?”
Most prisons allow approved landline numbers, but approval is always at the prison’s discretion. GateDial
is built to be compatible with the normal process: a standard UK landline number that can be listed and
dialled.
“Is this the same as call diversion?”
From the family’s perspective, yes: the call reaches your mobile even though the prisoner dialled a
landline. In practice, it’s a virtual landline with routing. Some services call it call forwarding; others brand it
as an “unlimited prison calls” package. The outcome is the same: cheaper dialling for the prisoner,
convenient answering for you.
“What if we miss the verification call?”
Missed verification calls can delay approval. GateDial support covers what to check and what to ask for so
it can be re■attempted.
### Built for prison reality, not office life
Most VoIP providers are aimed at businesses: call queues, extensions, and features you never use. Prison
communication is different. GateDial is designed around one thing: saving prison phone credit while
keeping family contact steady.
GateDial is deliberately simple: one number that stays the same, and routing you can update if your phone
changes. That stability matters. The prisoner doesn’t have to chase new numbers, and you don’t have to
keep restarting the approval process unless the prison requires it.
If your goal is straightforward—cheaper prison calls to your mobile, fewer top-ups, and more time actually
talking—GateDial is built for exactly that.
