Young (Ex-)offenders’ Support Erasmus Project

Project Title

Young (Ex-)offenders’ Support

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; Social dialogue; Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

YOUNG (EX)OFFENDERS’ SUPPORT (YES) is a strategic partnership project aimed at fostering employability of young ex-offenders by providing employers, youth/social workers & career specialists with tools to teach, guide & employ this vulnerable group. The partnership brings together the previously mentioned groups into a structure that supports young convicts in their career endeavours starting in prison and continuing post release.

CONTEXT
Being unemployed, based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, blocks other fundamental re-integration steps e.g. housing & food, security, & changed social networks. Once released, youngsters usually do not have: 1) any support from families or friends in starting over; 2) any financial back-up to fulfil their basic needs until they are able to sustain themselves; 3) knowledge of where to seek help (or how to reach the places where to get help). “I do not have fears, I have lots of questions”, said one female inmate. Ultimately, many people are entrenched within the correctional system from a very young age.

OBJECTIVES
YES aims to:
– provide youth workers (YWs), social workers (SWs) & career specialists (CSs) with expertise & knowledge to work with young (ex-)offenders;
– develop an educational program for convicts based on their needs & EU proposed key competencies;
– set up an online support to each ex-offender in finding a job post-release;
– find socially responsible employers who will be willing to hire an ex-offender;
– establish a network between correctional facilities, YWs & employers;
– minimize the negative societal perceptions on ex-offenders via various visibility measures.

PARTNERS & PARTICIPANTS
YES is a collaboration between four partners: Association Active Youth (Lithuania), Rubikon Centrum (Czech Republic), Slawek Foundation (Poland) and Wayback (Norway).

The project directly involves:
At least 100 specialists working with (ex-)convicts integration – youth workers, career specialists and social workers
At least 16 employers – businesses, NGOs and other organisations that already are hiring or want to hire young (ex-)offenders
At least 160 Young (ex)-convicts

DELIVERABLES & ACTIVITIES
– YES to Employment: methodology to boost employability of (ex-)offenders inside the prison & once released
– YES to Hiring an (Ex-)offender: a handbook for employers
– Online support for ex-convicts, specialists and employers regarding employment
– An ex-offender-friendly network (NET) consisting of employers, ex-offenders & specialists
– Short documentaries with success stories about young ex-offenders and their employers
– Events for specialists and organizations that are working with ex-offenders integration as well as for general public

IMPACT
The project is created in a way to leave a long standing positive effect on all of its target groups: the previously mentioned participants, partners and the general public. YES will create, launch and maintain a thorough support system that will help young (ex)-offenders boost their employability opportunities and thus lower the chances of recidivism, which ultimately harms the released youngsters and society at large too.

The system will be freely accessible to all. Due to its versatile and adaptable nature, this support system is hoped to be used beyond partner countries.

Project partners are always ready to provide guidance and training on the project’s resources, although the deliverables themselves are quite intuitive and easy to follow. Nevertheless, all questions and queries are more than welcome.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 119042 Eur

Project Coordinator

Asociacija “Aktyvus jaunimas” & Country: LT

Project Partners

• RUBIKON Centrum, z.ú.
• Fundacja “Slawek”
• Stiftelsen Livet Etter soning