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Description
The project proposal „Enhancing the social inclusion chances for roma prisoners from Aiud Penitenciary”, presents an interventional design extended for 24 months and accordingly to the main objective of thematic allocation A within the „Enhancing inclusion and roma abilitation” call of proposals. It embeds the partnership between the project promoter Pakiv Romania Association – an NGO with an over 7 years long experience in consulting, training and supporting vulnerable groups consisting of roma persons – and the partner represented by Aiud Penitenciary, which due to its specific activity, hosts approximately 500 prisoners everyday, within which a minimum of 200 of roma liberty deprived persons. The project will be implemented within Aiud Penitenciary and aims to optimize the chances of social inclusion for 635 prisoners along their social support groups, including a minimum of 430 roma persons, by providing a personalized and integrated set of measures during 24 months. The services designed to be provided throughout the proposed partnership and for achieving the assumed objectives are: 1.social and educational interventions, consisting of social, psychological and educational support, 2.pro-occupational services residing in investigating specific interests and attitudes, developing occupational skills, and training of professional competences, 3.health services – consisting in base medical support and phsichiatric consulting, along with developing health campaigns, 4.training the staff and voluntaries for a more efficient work style with roma pupils, and for avoiding discriminative attitudes, 5.developing of the appraisal campaigns and anti-discrimination instruments.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to address the following issues or challenges:
Social stigma and discrimination: People of Roma ethnicity often face discrimination and stigma in society, which can hinder their reintegration upon release from detention.
Lack of educational and professional opportunities: Individuals deprived of liberty, especially from marginalized communities like the Roma ethnicity, may lack access to education and professional training, making it challenging for them to find employment after release.
Family support and cohesion: The support group consisting of mothers and life partners of persons in detention may face emotional, financial, and social challenges in supporting their loved ones in detention, impacting their own well-being and the well-being of the detained individuals.
Risk of recidivism: Without adequate support and opportunities for reintegration, individuals released from detention, particularly those from marginalized communities, may face a higher risk of engaging in criminal activities again.
By addressing these challenges through education, training, and social support, the project aimed to enhance the reintegration prospects of individuals of Roma ethnicity deprived of liberty, as well as provide support to their family members in the support group to create a more cohesive and supportive environment for all involved .
The project''s overall goal was to enhance the social inclusion prospects of 635 individuals deprived of liberty and their social support group members, including 430 of Roma ethnicity. This was achieved by providing a set of personalized and integrated measures within the correctional environment.
The services delivered through the proposed partnership to achieve the project''s goals included: social and educational services, pre-employment services, health services, training services for staff and volunteers in working with individuals of Roma ethnicity and training on anti-discrimination topics, conceptualization, and implementation of four awareness-raising campaigns and the development of anti-discrimination tools.
The proposed project takes into consideration the needs and situation of Roma women who face disadvantages such as limited access to employment, healthcare, and social services. It suggests a set of integrated measures to contribute to their social inclusion. Roma women targeted by the project, members of the support group for individuals deprived of liberty, including wives, daughters, concubines, friends, and other female individuals providing support, have been included in the project''s activities through measures that involve: participation and/or rebuilding social connections for individuals deprived of liberty, involvement in cultural and volunteer projects, such as Volunteer Month and artistic creation workshops, participation in individual and/or group psychosocial counseling sessions, participation in pre-employment service activities to identify occupational interests and develop skills to increase their chances of employment and involvement in four anti-discrimination campaigns aimed at promoting Roma rights, reducing prejudices against Roma ethnicity, and combating anti-Roma sentiment.
These measures aim to enhance the occupational opportunities and emotional well-being of the Roma women who support individuals deprived of liberty.
Additionally, Roma women have also participated in four anti-discrimination campaigns that aimed to promote the rights of Roma, reduce prejudices regarding Roma ethnicity, The fight against anti-Roma prejudice.
543 Roma prisoners received social and educational interventions, 28 professionals, staff, and volunteers were educated to work more efficiently with Roma people and to avoid discriminatory attitudes, the awareness campaign reached 893 people, including 379 Roma, and resulted in the creation of an anti-discrimination instrument (Guide for combating discrimination in prisons).
Social and educational services create positive interactions to lay the groundwork for post-release reintegration.Pre-employment services involved the implementation of a set of pre-employment initiatives designed to optimize the conditions for labor market integration for 635 individuals deprived of liberty from Aiud Penitentiary and their social support group members (543 of Roma ethnicity). The provision of health services was divided into two categories:1)Provision of Basic Medical Services: Basic Medical Services Package provided in primary healthcare through the project to individuals deprived of liberty. 2)Health Mediation and Campaigns involved the execution of a campaign to promote awareness among the 635 individuals in the target group, individuals deprived of liberty, and members of their social support group on health-related topics. The primary focus of this campaign was to inform and raise awareness among individuals deprived of liberty and their social support group members regarding general health, well-being, and quality of life.
Training of Staff and Volunteers in working with Roma Individuals and Training of Staff and Volunteers on Anti-Discrimination : Within these activities, a professional training program titled "Social and Civic Competencies" was organized and implemented, with a total of 56 participants.
Fighting against any form of discrimination against Roma aimed at developing the necessary informational and awareness materials for the implementation of the four campaigns: "And Roma Have Rights!", "An Opinion Without Judgment", "Gypsy Soul," and "#Combathate".