Prison Fellowship International

Prison Fellowship International

Prison Fellowship International (PFI) is an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) of national Prison Fellowship (PF) organisations from 112 countries.

Primary Mission

"To mobilise and assist the Christian community in its ministry to prisoners, ex-prisoners, victims, and their families; and in the advancement of restorative justice." [http://www.pfi.org/our_mission PFI Website - The Mission of Prison Fellowship International] ]

Beginnings

PFI was founded in 1979, three years after the formation of PF United States and the emergence of similar organisations in England, Australia, Canada, and Costa Rica. PF USA was formed by Charles W. Colson following his release from prison. Colson had been serving time in prison after being convicted for an offence related to "Watergate," the infamous political scandal during the Nixon presidency.

PF Activities

Prisoner support

PF national organisations work in support of prison chaplaincy and assisting the work of the church behind bars.

Through PFI's Global Assistance Programme national PF organisations seek to respond to acute medical needs and emergencies in prisons through partnership with volunteer medical professionals who provide short-term assistance.

Post-prison support

PFI Church-based volunteers seek to act as a relational bridge between prison and the community.

Geo Trust is a micro-lending programme designed to provide small start-up loans to qualifying ex-prisoners to enable them to start small businesses. These businesses provide a means for them to support their families and lead a productive life within the community.

In addition to assisting ex-prisoners with the practical challenges of re-entry into the community, a number of national PF organisations operate intensive "aftercare" programmes including residential support.

Assisting children and families of prisoners

The Angel Tree Programme is an outreach to the children of prisoners at Christmas. Members of local churches volunteer to sponsor these children by purchasing a gift based on information gathered by PF volunteers and prison chaplains.

In addition to "Angel Tree" PFI is developing programmes including camps, retreats, and a variety of year-round events and support services designed to keep the children of prisoners from becoming involved in crime.

National PF organisations in three countries operate residential facilities which provide care for more than 200 children of prisoners.

Reconciling victims and offenders

PFI's Sycamore Tree Project is designed to stimulated dialogue between victims and offenders in order to facilitate reconciliation. This 8-12 week in-prison programme brings together groups of victims and offenders through facilitated discussion in a journey toward repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

Restorative justice

Through the 'PFI Centre for Justice and Reconciliation', PFI seeks to promote the principles and practices of restorative justice -- an approach to justice focusing on healing broken relationships, repairing the damage done by crime, and restoring the offender to a meaningful role in society.

The Centre operates [http://www.restorativejustice.org/ Restorative Justice Online] and provides information and consultation to national PF organisations, governments, the United Nations, and other organisations.

Promoting faith-based prisons

Based on APAC, the Brazilian model of faith-based prison communities, national PF organisations are adapting their own APAC projects

Consultation

As an NGO, PFI maintains Consultative Status (Category II) with the UN Economic and Social Council [http://www.unodc.org/ngo/showSingleDetailed.do?req_org_uid=3782 United Nations Website - Description of Prison Fellowship International's ECOSOC Status] ] and is an active participant in the UN Alliance of NGO’s on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

External links

* [http://prisonministry.net/ PrisonMinistry.net] - International Network of Prison Ministries (AKA "Prison Ministry Directory")

PFI Web Sites

* [http://www.pfi.org/ Prison Fellowship International]
* [http://www.restorativejustice.org/ Restorative Justice Online]
* [http://www.pficjr.org/ Centre for Justice and Reconciliation at PFI]
* [http://www.justicereparatrice.org/ Justice Reparatrice en linge (French)]
* [http://www.justiciarestaurativa.org/ Justicia Restaurative en linea (Spanish)]

PFI Affiliate Web Sites

* [http://www.pfi.org.au/ PF Australia]
* [http://www.geocities.com/fbacapac PF Brazil]
* [http://www.pfbulgaria.hit.bg/ PF Bulgaria]
* [http://www.prisonfellowship.ca/ PF Canada]
* [http://www.geocities.com/PrisonFellowshipColombia PF Colombia]
* [http://www.cccostarica.org/ PF Costa Rica]
* [http://www.prisonfellowship.org.uk/ PF England and Wales]
* [http://www.srnet.ee/ PF Estonia]
* [http://www.bonlarron.org PF France]
* [http://www.prisonfellowship.de/ PF Germany]
* [http://www.ksa.org.hk/ PF Hong Kong]
* [http://www.prison.fw.hu/ PF Hungary]
* [http://www.preciouschildren.org PF India]
* [http://www.geocities.com/pfnepal/ PF Nepal]
* [http://www.gevangenenzorg.nl/ PF Netherlands]
* [http://www.pfnz.org.nz/ PF New Zealand]
* [http://www.pfn.no PF Norway]
* [http://www.bractwowiezienne.ruchy.opoka.org.pl/ PF Poland]
* [http://www.pfr.ro/ PF Romania]
* [http://www.pfsing.org.sg/ PF Singapore]
* [http://www.concaes.com/ PF Spain]
* [http://www.pfch.ch/ PF Switzerland]
* [http://www.PFTaiwan.org.tw/ PF Taiwan]
* [http://www.pftnt.wb.st/ PF Trinidad and Tobago]
* [http://www.prisonfellowship.org PF USA]

Notes


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Prison Fellowship — (PF) is the largest prison outreach and criminal justice reform organization in the world. Its programs reach prisoners, ex prisoners, and families of prisoners in all 50 states and, through Prison Fellowship International, in 110 countries… …   Wikipedia

  • Prison officer — Finnish Prison Officer Occupation Names Correctional officer, corrections officer, detention officer Activity sectors Law enforcement …   Wikipedia

  • Prison — Criminal justice portal Jail and Gaol redirect here. For other uses, see Jail (disambiguation). For other uses, see Prison (disambiguation). A prison (from Old French prisoun) …   Wikipedia

  • Prison ship — The forbidding form of the beached convict ship HMS Discovery at Deptford. Launched as a 10 gun sloop at Rotherhithe in 1789, the ship served as a convict hulk from 1818 until scrapped in February 1834.[1] …   Wikipedia

  • Prison tattooing — Tattoos on the back of a Dead Man Incorporated gang member Prison tattooing is the practice of creating and displaying tattoos in a prison environment. They are often used to portray gang membership,[1] and are often used as a form of code and… …   Wikipedia

  • Prison religion — includes the religious beliefs and practices of prison , usually stemming from or including concepts surrounding their imprisonment and accompanying lifestyle. [ [http://academic.scranton.edu/faculty/DAMMERH2/religion.html Religion in Prison ]… …   Wikipedia

  • Debtors' prison — A mid Victorian depiction of the debtors prison at St Briavels Castle. A debtors prison is a prison for those who are unable to pay a debt. Prior to the mid 19th century debtors prisons were a common way to deal with unpaid debt.[1] …   Wikipedia

  • Military prison — Not to be confused with prisoner of war camp. The United States Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas is a military prison A military prison is a prison operated by the military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners… …   Wikipedia

  • Dark prison — The dark prison is the informal name used by some Guantanamo Bay detainees for a secret prison they claim they were detained in near Kabul, Afghanistan.[1] According to an article distributed by Reuters, eight Guantanamo detainees have described… …   Wikipedia

  • Child Evangelism Fellowship — Founder(s) Jesse Overholtzer Type 501(c)3 non profit religious Founded 1937 Location Warrenton, Missouri, US (World H …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”