A new agreement between Prison Fellowship New Zealand and Corrections will mean the Rimutaka Prisons’ Faith Based Unit (FBU) will close, making way for new reintegration activities which will reach prisoners at more sites.
Prison Fellowship New Zealand has run the Christian-based rehabilitation programme at Rimutaka Prison’s FBU since October 2003.
Gregory Fortuin, Executive Chairman of PFNZ, remarked, “Although this marks an end of an era for one of our highest profile programmes in the prison system, we are now planning, with other community partners and our volunteers throughout New Zealand, to take the Christian values – based programmes and services we have learned do work, into many more prisons.
500+ men have passed through the faith-based unit, many of whom are now back in their communites and churches, living crime-free.
Christian-based rehab programmes are to be expanded across the country in a new Corrections deal.
The new agreement between Prison Fellowship New Zealand and Corrections will give prisoners access to the Christian organisation’s reintegration programmes in more sites than ever before.
Under the new agreement, Prison Fellowship will deliver reintegration programmes. A pilot of one of these programmes, Target Communities, is under way in four prisons. The programme has been tailored to maximise the reintegration support for prisoners on their release into Greater Wellington and Auckland Council regions.
The pilot is current running in Rimutaka, Arohata and Spring Hill Prisons. From early next year it will also be available in Auckland Women’s Correction Facility.
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