The number of people serving prison sentences, detained, and prosecuted in 2018 was 74 0771. For many as 36 833 people, this was not their first prosecution (Prison Service Central Management Authority). This demonstrates the scale of the problem of people returning to prison and how great the need is for rehabilitation programs. The project addresses the problem of no institutional program being available to help people adjust and return to the community, family, and work upon release from prison.
The project aims to develop an advocacy and transition development program for convicts, and also create regional advocates for rights and resettlement of former convicts.
Working with a minimum of two experts, we will draw up basic the premises, concepts, and methodical and organizational standards for a transition program. We will organize public consultations and provide training for 3 people to act as self-advocates for inmates’ rights. We will open a former convict rights and active resettlement bureau to provide legal and psychological support. Advocates will conduct promotional measures in penitentiary facilities, advocacy in support institutions, and activation measures to create a positive image of former convicts in the local community. We will conduct training for 7 people throughout Poland, and subsequently provide them with counselling when the program is implemented.
The measures are intended for former convicts and institutions in that environment that play an important role in the resettlement process.
50 people released from prison will receive direct assistance under the project. 3 people in the Silesian Voivodeship will take up self-advocacy activities, and 7 people from other voivodeships will be trained to conduct similar activities in their local areas. An inmate advocacy and resettlement development program will be set up, and recommendations will be made as to its systemic implementation.