The project addresses the lack of support for people in and out of prison. In 2018, more than 35,000 people were re-sentenced. This shows that re-offending and returning to prisons is common. Unfortunately, there is a lack of readaptation activities to support inmates and prison leavers to return to social life, family and work. An equally big problem for people leaving penitentiary units is their stigmatisation, among others in public institutions. Moreover, support institutions do not cooperate and pile up bureaucratic barriers to accessing support, which discourages ex-prisoners and inmates from taking advantage of their offer.

The Project Promoter developed a programme to develop inmate advocacy and readaptation activities. 13 people received training to prepare them to work as self-advocates and 4 of them were employed by the project. Their tasks included outreach activities, i.e. providing consultations to people in penitentiary units and after leaving prisons, and advocacy activities, i.e. participating in meetings with representatives of prisons and support institutions. A total of 223 consultations were provided. It was possible to establish cooperation with 5 penitentiary institutions (in Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Sosnowiec, Gliwice, Zabrze and Mysłowice), where support groups were conducted. A total of 69 men participated in the support groups. The programme was subject to evaluation, on the basis of which recommendations were developed for system implementation (part of the recommendations concerned self-advocacy).

People in prison units received multidimensional support, both substantive and emotional. Of the 13 people trained in self-advocacy, some put their skills into practice by supporting other inmates in the project. Undoubtedly, this was an activating and empowering experience, raising self-confidence, sense of agency and influence. The self-advocacy activities contributed to raising the institution’s awareness of the needs of people after they have served their sentence, as well as breaking down harmful stereotypes. The programme for the development of advocacy and readaptation activities for prisoners and the recommendations for its systemic implementation are an important step towards systemic change in the area of support for former prisoners.