Target group:
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Former prisoners
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Objectives:
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Encouragement of former prisoners’ initiative to change the public attitude and to reduce social exclusion in the society and the competitive labour market of Šiauliai region by applying innovative – experimental aids of role visualisation.
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Goals: |
- To form co-operation network for the assistance to former prisoners in Šiauliai region.
- To change the society’s negative and stereotyped attitude towards former prisoners as towards a group of socially excluded people by applying innovative – experimental aids of role visualisation in Šiauliai region with the subsequent suggestion to apply the same on national scale.
- Trying innovative methods, to involve former prisoners into social activity to make them responsible society members who would be able to meet their personal interests and needs without any confrontation with the people round about and society.
- To promote civic “bottom-up” initiatives to achieve the representation of common interests in local authorities, third sector.
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Innovation: |
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The activity of development partnership EQUAL – TOWARDS THE OPEN DOOR is an innovation in regional context as such practice has never been applied or tried out in Lithuania. The development partnership EQUAL – TOWARDS THE OPEN DOOR provides initiatives, which promote extraordinary forms of communication and co-operation in Šiauliai region; such measures (TV reports, round-table discussions, newspaper issue) may lead to great changes in the solution of problems, how former prisoners could integrate/reintegrate more actively into the labour market and participate in social life.
The development partnership, by implementing the activities of stages one and two, will develop the following innovation forms:
- Aim-oriented innovations. Measures will be developed (TV reports “I want to work”) to create conditions for the former prisoners to integrate into competitive labour market: an attempt will be made to form new attitudes and to destroy stereotypes; former prisoners’ competitive personal qualities will be trained; communication skills of those working with former prisoners will be renewed. The aim is to achieve equal treatment of former prisoners by potential employers in recruiting.
- Process-oriented innovations. Preparation of new (psychological) curricula for the work with former prisoners. New attitude towards teaching, education, and consulting, applying and trying the measures of role visualisation (process of correcting former prisoners’ positive social behaviour skills will be integrated into employment).
- Context-oriented innovations. Development Partnership EQUAL – TOWARDS THE OPEN DOOR foresees the change of Šiauliai region community’s attitude towards former prisoners by applying the following methods:
Development Partnership will develop the concept of “significance of a person” applying media measures and creating a possibility for the target group to act in the activities provided. |
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Activities: |
- Project administration;
- Programme preparation;
- Creation of technical basis (for project initiative group);
- Newspaper issue, distribution;
- Preparation of TV report;
- Personnel training;
- Target group training (psychological education);
- Research;
- Co-operation:
- International co-operation within DP “Link to life”;
- DP “EQUAL-Towards the Open Door” partner meetings.
- Other activities related to project implementation.
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Planned results: |
- International development partnership “Link to life” created;
- Project target group formed, the members of which will participate in the initiative group, newspaper distribution, and preparation of newspaper articles and scenarios;
- Role visualisation measures created;
- Role visualisation measures tried:
- Social guarantees, i.e. temporary employment for persons from the target group, provided;
- Conditions created for the forming initiative to obtain formally the legal status of NGO and to start organisational activity;
- Public attitudes towards former prisoners researched in Šiauliai region.
- Psychological program prepared for the employees working with former prisoners.
- Partner representatives (social workers) trained for the work with the target group (former prisoners).
- Psychological program prepared for the former prisoners.
- Target group training performed.
- Newspaper “EQUAL – Towards the Open Door” and e-bulletin of the newspaper “EQUAL – Towards the Open Door” completed.
- Technical basis created for the activity of project target-initiative group.
- Indirect beneficiaries will include:
- families of former prisoners,
- close associates,
- society,
- institutions,
- employers,
- members of International DC “Link to life” and their partners.
- Website of International DC “Link to life” developed.
- Analysis of project activities performed.
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| Prospective outcomes: |
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The research will allow determining the society’s view towards people who have returned from the imprisonment establishments and the former prisoners’ view towards the society and the labour market; identifying the components causing stereotyped attitudes and criteria that could assist in changing society’s consciousness.
Information presented in the TV reports and the newspaper on social problems of former prisoners will form a positive view of potential employers and society towards former prisoners and will assist in changing society’s consciousness and will improve the former prisoners’ integration into community as well as will facilitate their re-socialisation process.
24 TV reports “I want to work”. 48 persons are likely to gain social skills, which will help in reducing social exclusion in the society and the contemporary labour market.
In the course of the project, social guarantees will be granted, i.e. temporary employment will be provided to 38 former prisoners thus encouraging their continual relation with the environment and their participation in common and positively estimated communal activity, facilitating the change of society’s and potential employers’ negative stereotyped attitude, and developing the principle of equal employment opportunities.
The cycle of psychological social seminars will be created and tried, which would enable the officials and employees of public authorities to raise their competence in the communication with former prisoners and would build favourable view towards former prisoners.
Project activity will encourage the forming initiative to formally obtain a legal status and to start organisational activity thus activating the interest representation and establishment of relations with the local municipality, other authorities, and future foreign partners.
Consultation provided on the advantages, possibilities, and legal registration of NGO.
Indirect beneficiaries of the project “Towards the Open Door” will be the former prisoners’ family members, members of their surrounding community, project partner institutions, employers, and society.
Technical facilities developed in the course of the project together with the premises arranged and refurbished will be transferred to the organisation of former prisoners upon the acquisition of its legal status.
Suggestions and recommendations generated during the conference will allow improving the work of local authority infrastructures with socially vulnerable groups. |
| Prospective impact: |
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The project will aim at the development of effects and their dispersion on both horizontal and vertical levels.
Political effect on horizontal level:
The members of Development Partnership “Towards the Open Door” will centrally collect information on the institutions and organisations, which provide social and psychological services to former prisoners. The social portal created by the Development Partnership will develop “umbrella-like” co-operation. Horizontal inter-institutional co-operation will enable to solve purposively the problems of former prisoners’ integration into the labour market and to avoid the overlapping services among institutions. The social partnership portal created by the Development Partnership “Towards the Open Door” will present the project research results to all the institutions concerned on both horizontal and vertical levels. The aggressive creation and presentation of role visualisation aids of the DP “Towards the Open Door”, with the help of mass media, will ensure a smooth publicity campaign, which will have direct influence on the publicly rooted stereotypes, attitudes, and views towards former prisoners.
Political and practical effect on vertical level:
- To prepare the training program (of psychological education), which would be approved and delivered as a refresher curriculum for authorities’ staff and those working with former prisoners;
- To present suggestions, that authorities working with former prisoners (Territorial labour exchanges, municipality workers, etc.) would annually improve their competencies in the work with former prisoners;
- To aim at the creation of equal employment opportunities for former prisoners from the standpoint of potential employers to build segregation on the labour market.
The DP’s idea and activities will be promoted in the society and among partners (both locally and internationally): via press publications, mass media, issue of informational newspapers and flyers, creation of website, organisation of thematic seminars and meetings with the actual and potential partners, report preparation. The results will be applied both locally and internationally for the development of further activity; training system for the work with former prisoners will be adapted in Lithuanian labour market system. The project and its results will be publicly accessible. |
