Over the last two year The Community Foundation for Ireland has, through an anonymous donor provided €10,000 to Care After Prison to support the strategic work of the organisation.
Care After Prison’s launched their three-year strategic plan which highlights the work they have been involved in and what the future plans are. Care After Prison (CAP) is a national peer led criminal justice charity dedicated to changing the lives of people who have been affected by imprisonment. Those with lived experience of prison are members of the staff team and part of the circle of volunteers.
The organisation believe they can create safer communities and lower reoffending rates by preparing their clients with the skills they need to positively re-enter society, supporting them and their families from gate to community. At Care After Prison they place a massive emphasis on responsibility and acceptance and strongly believe in second chances. The report includes personal testimonies from service users “I was so scared of leaving prison, what would it be like on the outside, I didn’t know anything, buses, phones, how to get anywhere, the names for things, it was like having to learn a new language and that’s where CAP came in, they met with me when I was in prison and then when I was released they were there”. This feedback further enforces the work of CAP, more detail can be found in their publication http://careafterprison.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Strategic-Plan-2018-2020.pdf
They work with female and male adult offenders who are on temporary release, currently in prison, former offenders and their families. Their main base is in Dublin where they run a drop-in service 5 days a week and also have a base in Portlaoise. They work with six prisons nationwide offering a range of services such as Community Support Scheme, Peer Mentoring Programme, Family Support, Community Voluntary Programme, and Prison Inreach.
If you would like to learn more about our donors, grantees and the strategic work of The Community Foundation for Ireland you can download our guide here.