
Description
Despite the significant developments made in the Criminal Justice System field (CJS), little attention has been paid to prisoners’ families and their needs during the re-entry process.
The incarceration experience has significant economic, social and psychological effects on prisoners’ families who are among the most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations in society, experiencing multidimensional and intersectional forms of inequality (Western and Pettit, 2010).
Many of the consequences on prisoners’ families can be alleviated by moderators such as the support provided by non-governmental organizations, welfare policies and social services (Condry & Smith, 2018). However, these families often lack awareness on where and how to look for this support.
The UpFamilies project aims to provide them a compendium of existing services available, from local to national, which can help them cope with the effects of imprisonment. The services’ up-to-date information will be made available using a mobile application.
At the same time, the project intends to raise awareness on the importance of capacity building of the organisations that daily work with these families, so that they can be better prepared for their unique needs.
Outputs
- Roadmap on existing programmes/services that meet the needs of prisoners’ families
- UpFamilies´ mobile application.
- Training Manual to mobilise community capacity to provide support and assistance to prisoners’ families
Activities
- Development of a compendium of existing services available, which can help prisoners’ families to cope with imprisonment impacts.
- Creation of a network of institutions and professionals that work with prisoners’ families, promoting alliances and cooperation between all.
- Creation of a mobile application with existing services and programmes available for prisoners’ families.
- E- learning training activities for professionals working with prisoners’ families
- Development of a Training Manual that provides information on how civil society organizations canunderstand and address families with incarcerated members’ needs.
Partners
- Fundación Diagrama Intervención Psicosocial (Spain – Coordinator)
- Aproximar – Cooperativa de Solidariedade Social (Portugal)
- Asociata Vis Juventum (Romania)
- European Strategies Consulting (Romania)
- Athens Lifelong Learning Institute (Greece)
- Interchange Non-Profit gUG (Germany)
- Mundo da Carolina – Associação de Apoio a Crianças e Jovens (Portugal)

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.
More Information
Date of the Project:
2021 - 2024

Funding programme:
Grant Agreement Number: 2021-1-ES01-KA220-ADU-000025967
Erasmus +, Key Action 02, Cooperation partnerships in adult education
Tags:
Criminal Justice System, Prison Education, Media Literacy, Social Inclusion
Contact:
xchalatsis@athenslifelonglearning.gr