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Description
The project "To Freedom with a Mentor" addresses the lack of care for people in and after serving a sentence of imprisonment, who for various reasons do not integrate back into society after release from prison and more than 60% of them relapse. The project contributes to the fulfillment of the Prison Concept by 2015 in the following two strategic goals:
1) Reduce crime recidivism through effective work with convicted and released prisoners and the creation of an environment for their successful reintegration into society
2) Create a comprehensive system of interconnection of penitentiary care, post-penitentiary care and crime prevention programs, on an inter-ministerial and multidisciplinary basis
The project will update, supplement and evaluate the current methodological procedures of the applicant for the reintegration program Mentoring and subsequently its actual implementation for 150 convicts in five prisons in the Czech Republic. Direct work with convicts (clients) in the mentoring program will be performed by 24 mentors according to the needs of clients approx. 6 months before the release of the convict from prison until approx. 6 months after release.
The project is focused on two target groups:
1. mentoring clients, which are adults serving a custodial sentence who are preparing to be released and persons released from serving a custodial sentence, including conditionally released, who will be supported under the mentoring program to facilitate reintegration into society after their release from serving a sentence
2. mentors, which are people with min. completed secondary education with GCSE, min. aged from 20 years without an entry in the extract from the criminal record, who will be trained and will subsequently ensure the implementation of the mentoring program
Summary of project results
Projects of this type are necessary, as clients returning to freedom usually need someone who will go through the entire process of transitioning to freedom with them from beginning to end. Mere occasional consultation or solving partial matters is not enough, clients often do not remember and do not understand official duties and lose social contacts and connection with the current world. They may feel lost in an environment outside prison, and returning to prison may be an appropriate solution to this situation.
The main goal of the project was to provide a comprehensive reintegration service to persons released from prison. Well-set individual activities lead to the result that the client has no desire to return to prison and makes full use of the mentor''s 6-month assistance to start working life, secure accommodation, solve debts and communicate with family. Therefore, if these areas cannot be started before release from prison, the person loses motivation and a return to prison is close at that point. An important element in the framework of cooperation is a permanent trained, knowledgeable mentor who knows the environment to which the convict returns well and can help him with the given activities. The project included the creation of a mentoring manual, recruiting and training of mentors, selecting and working with clients in prison and after release. During project implementation, we succeded to train 46 mentors and to support 147 clients.
Overall goal of the program is to improve the correctional system and prevent people from returning to prison by committing other criminal activities due to the complexity of the system when re-entering life. Thanks to the help of mentors, there is individual work with a client who feels that the system is not interested in him after years in prison. Mentor helps in fulfilling basic needs on the labor market, securing housing, solving overdue debts and settling family relationships.