Adaptation: From Prison to Real Life

On 8 July 2009, a roundtable entitled "Socialisation of Persons Returning from Places of Deprivation of Liberty" was held at the Luhansk Regional Youth Library. It was organised by the Luhansk Regional Charitable Foundation "Teenager" (Podrostok) in conjunction with the Department of the State Department of Ukraine for the Execution of Sentences in the Luhansk region and the Luhansk Regional Centre for Social Services for Family, Children, and Youth.
Participants included staff from the psychological sector for social and educational work in pre-trial detention centres, colonies, and prisons; criminal-executive inspectorates; specialists from centres for social services for family, children, and youth; non-governmental organisations; and specialists from more than twenty organisations and institutions involved in one way or another with prisoners, those with suspended sentences, and those serving sentences as ordered by the court.
The following issues were submitted for discussion:
1. A list of problems that a person released from places of deprivation of liberty encounters first and foremost, and ways to overcome them.
2. Presentation and discussion of the brochure "How to Survive After Release".
3. Possibilities for centres of social services for family, children, and youth to form collaborations with social institutions for the socialisation and adaptation of those returning from places of deprivation of liberty and those with suspended sentences within the framework of social partnership.
4. Pros and cons of the legislative framework in matters of socialisation for teenagers, youth, and women returning from places of deprivation of liberty and those with suspended sentences.
The roundtable was implemented as part of a project supported by the Democracy Development Fund of the US Embassy in Ukraine.
Participants of the roundtable were welcomed by S.V. Reshetov, Assistant Cultural Attaché of the Media Development Fund of the US Embassy in Ukraine, who also participated in the work of the roundtable.
The roundtable was opened by Volodymyr Honcharov, Chairman of the Board of the Luhansk Regional Charitable Foundation "Teenager", Director of the Leninsky District Centre for Social Services for Family, Children, and Youth in Luhansk, and Honoured Social Worker of Ukraine. He began by asking everyone present the question: "How can we help those who have stumbled?"
This question is far from simple, especially since it concerns the fates of minors, youth, and women. Especially if they are serving a sentence for the first time.
For several years now, we have been engaged in activities to involve the public in preventive work and to introduce new forms of influence on young people who have stumbled. It would seem one should feel satisfied. But that satisfaction does not come. Being in contact with these individuals, knowing their twisted fates and complex characters with unpredictable manifestations, I know what youth crime is and what terrible consequences it threatens the territory to which a person who has served a prison term returns.
During one of my trips to a colony, I conducted personal interviews. I am getting to know a ward. Before me is Artem B. First conviction – he committed a robbery. He looks at me scrutinisingly. He has a life rich in events behind him. Born into a so-called "dysfunctional" family. In early childhood, he lost his parents: his mother died, and his father was killed in criminal fighting. And he remembers them more for their stormy, drunken debauches. His older brother is in a colony. He himself went through an orphanage and a special school. He became addicted to alcohol early, has learning difficulties, and barely knows how to read and write. He is hot-tempered and has lost his social connections. How can one explain the concepts of good and evil to him? How can one entice him with the prospect of law-abiding behaviour? How can one help him become a normal person? A positive result lies in the compassionate attitude of both the pedagogical staff of the colony and all those whom the teenager will meet and have to prove himself to in life during his imprisonment and after his release.
Before me is another young man – Igor K. Second conviction. At an early age, he suffered a family tragedy – his family fell apart, his father left a mother who was an alcoholic. A stepfather with a criminal past entered the family, and the drunken haze continued; the stepfather killed Igor’s mother. Guardianship over him was taken by his aunt, who, as it later turned out, only needed his apartment, not the person. And so, he ended up on the street among drug addicts. The inevitable consequence for obtaining money for their purchase is theft. He is before me, broken, frightened, with a plea for help in his eyes. How to help? But we have an obligation to return this guy to a normal life!
Our team strives to organise things in such a way as to create conditions for the constant emergence of new forms and the improvement of existing ones. Dynamic change is the life and success of our arduous work.
We have not identified any mass human rights violations, especially those concerning beatings, unreasonable use of special equipment, or other actions by administrations that degrade the dignity of prisoners. Although, if one reads our press, one could conclude that the administrations do nothing but beat, torture, etc., the prisoners. This is far from the truth. Although individual complaints about such actions on the part of the administration have been received. I think that the management of the State Department for the Execution of Sentences and local prosecutor's offices should pay increased attention to such complaints so that such cases are not permitted.
Our programmes, willy-nilly, over 10 years, have started to take on, let's say, an educational and enlightening character. Unfortunately, both prisoners and, at times, the staff themselves, are insufficiently informed about their rights as well as their duties. Therefore, it is necessary to pay primary attention to reducing the legal illiteracy of prisoners, and staff as well. Unfortunately, very, very little literature is published that explains the provisions of laws, by-laws, etc. We have previously published manuals for prisoners and staff of penitentiary institutions, for which requests are received constantly. We will fulfil all these requests in full. We found money from donors (primarily from the Press Office of the US Embassy) to publish the first collections. We hope that these editions will help at least partially reduce the deficit of such literature.
In our region, there are already a number of structures that have taken it upon themselves to rehabilitate those who have returned from colonies or received a suspended sentence.
To date, there is already a comprehensive state programme in Ukraine concerning the rehabilitation and employment of youth and minors.
Firstly, this directive document made it possible to practically apply social accompaniment, that is, to get acquainted with social work clients in educational colonies in advance by conducting surveys, creating special files, and studying the psychological profiles of the wards.
Secondly, to continue individual work after their return from places of deprivation of liberty, namely: to solve housing problems, help with employment, restore documents, provide humanitarian aid, and the like.
The organisers of our roundtable meeting reached an agreement that it is necessary to create a rehabilitation centre for this category of youth within the framework of this programme, based on public organisations, which would help such persons receive high-quality, qualified assistance after their release.
There is often, in our view, an unreasonable application of such a pre-trial measure as detention in custody, especially in relation to minors, unsatisfactory work by lawyers, and imprecise work by the escort service. It is necessary to legally limit the duration of detention for prisoners whose cases are pending in court. This is the first point. And the second. To introduce an article into the Law "On Institutions and Bodies Executing Criminal Sentences" according to which the head of a pre-trial detention centre who accepts even one prisoner above the set limit would be subject to criminal liability. Only in this case will investigators and prosecutors approach the selection of such a pre-trial measure as detention in custody selectively. And they will think a hundred times before choosing this measure or granting a sanction for it.
It is necessary to develop links between colonies and higher education institutions so that prisoners can obtain a higher education. Where such training is organised, the situation is characterised by greater stability with all the consequences flowing from this.
Unexpectedly, Volodymyr Honcharov again interjected into the conversation: none of us can imagine ourselves in the dock.
If the doors of the court have closed behind you, and you have a sentence in your pocket stating that you have been given a suspended sentence and a probation period – do not rush to rejoice and erase the preceding months of your life from your memory. I probably will not be mistaken if I say that now the most important task is to ensure that you do not end up in the dock again – from there, it is unlikely that you will manage to return home.
Alas, such a prospect is real. Every second person who leaves the courtroom as a free person with minor restrictions established by the verdict eventually ends up in a place of deprivation of liberty. More than two-thirds of the guys doomed to long years in educational colonies were previously given suspended sentences. Most of them committed a crime during the probation period assigned to them. A minority did not fulfil the requirements imposed on them by the court during the probation period.
Deprivation of liberty is in itself a fairly serious test for a person. The state's task is to make this punishment such that it at least does not degrade a person's honour and dignity. Of course, one can argue about whether these people deserve humane treatment – but a normal, social society must count on the fact that, at some point, a criminal will return to freedom. They must find their place in the world, be re-educated, and be corrected.
"We are trying to resocialise them, to convince them to be law-abiding," says Andrii Brytanov, Deputy Head of Social and Educational and Psychological Work at the Perevalsk Correctional Colony No. 15. "For the most part, these are normal people who were unlucky in life. But, unfortunately, one cannot say that people here are truly being corrected."
And they are indeed normal: calm, purposeful. Maybe only because they are under control. Maybe because they have a roof over their heads and a guaranteed piece of bread. Falling under the strict, disciplined guardianship of the state here, they have the opportunity to engage in reading and music, acquire a trade, and receive lessons in survival in society. However, is society ready for this? After all, most prisoners simply did not have the opportunity to develop their abilities or get an education before the colony.
For our prejudiced society, it is not enough to rethink past sins, it is not enough to have a desire to become law-abiding: you also need extraordinary willpower, patience, and stubbornness to receive support from family and understanding from employers. And here, it depends not only on the convicts but also on civil society whether they will find a place for themselves in the free world or return to correctional institutions again.
The colony finances the repair of buildings and the majority of "additional services" at its own expense. State funds for maintenance are provided very limitedly. In 2009, only about a third of the budget allocation was provided, and it is spent on food, payment for utilities, and special clothing.
A characteristic feature of this roundtable is yet another step aimed at openness, transparency, and accessibility of penitentiary institutions in the Luhansk region and organisations working with those serving sentences and those who have returned from places of deprivation of liberty.
The organisers distributed to all roundtable participants lists of organisations of the Department of Ukraine for the Execution of Sentences (prisons, colonies, and pre-trial detention centres of the Luhansk region, with addresses and phone numbers), all contact details of the roundtable participants, a network of centres for social services for family, children, and youth, social institutions, and a list of Christian missions in the Luhansk region with phone numbers, postal addresses, and email addresses.
Now, only a small task remains – to connect, communicate, and cooperate!
The next speaker was Larysa Vatsiuk, Chief Specialist of the Employment Department of the Regional Employment Centre. She dwelt on the issues of employment for persons returning from places of deprivation of liberty and highlighted the problems that this category of people most often encounters. One of the most acute is the almost complete absence of reserved jobs at enterprises for people who are being released. During her speech, statistics were voiced – in the first half of 2009, 20% of those who applied from among persons returning from places of deprivation of liberty were employed. Unfortunately, this is a very small figure for today, taking into account the number of people who are being released. There were many questions from the staff of the colonies and criminal-executive inspectorates concerning the employment of their charges.
Specialists from the Pension Fund and the Anti-Tuberculosis Dispensary also took part in the dialogue. Issues of applying for and receiving pensions for those released were raised, and special attention was paid to the collection and submission of documents required for receiving a pension. As for the issues of tuberculosis prevention among former prisoners, the solution to this problem has reached a sufficient level. All those released with this illness receive free medical care and support. The patients live and receive treatment in the anti-tuberculosis dispensary from 4 to 12 months (until complete recovery) with 3-4 meals a day.
Inna Shchukina, Chief Specialist of the Department for Methodological Support of Social Work of the Luhansk Regional Centre for Social Services for Family, Children, and Youth, spoke in detail about the network of centres for social services for family, children, and youth (CSSFCY) and the services they provide to those returning from places of deprivation of liberty.
Special attention was paid to the role of the Orthodox Church in the system of convict correction. As Volodymyr Honcharov said, today, ministers of the Orthodox Church and Christian missions are seriously making their presence known; they regularly visit these institutions, conducting religious services, spiritual conversations, the sacraments of confession, communion, and baptism, and exhorting the convicts to refrain from committing further crimes. It happens that violators of the regime come to the prayer room that operates in the colony, and after working with the priest, they cease to be such.
Archpriests prepare the convicts for an early release, for an ordinary, normal life according to Christian and universal human laws. And they practically help them to socially adapt to society after their release. For example, they help solve problems of employment, housing, and food (for the initial period).
Much attention at the roundtable was given to the work of the Luhansk City Centre for the Provision of Social Services. Deputy Head of the Department for the Registration of Homeless Citizens, Ihor Tyryshkin, described in detail the mechanism of assistance to returnees. One of the areas of activity is social raids, during which homeless people are fed. Also, this centre assists in obtaining passports for those released. For this, they temporarily register the person at the residential address of the centre to speed up the mechanism for obtaining a passport and finding a job. According to the statistics that were made public, in the first half of the year, the centre issued ten passports to those released from places of deprivation of liberty.
Volunteer of the "Teenager" Foundation, Tetyana Kamaeva, began with an example: a letter fell into our hands – "Released into 'nowhere'":
"I have been serving a sentence since July 2006. In 1999–2006, while in places of deprivation of liberty, I lost my home – my private house was looted and destroyed by fire.
In April 2006, I was released – literally – into nowhere. After walking the corridors of the administration of my city, I realised that they would not help me solve the problem here. I arrived in the regional centre, temporarily settled with Christians. Hope for the better appeared…
But, having gone through a multitude of organisations and enterprises, after two weeks I realised that everything was much worse than I thought. Finding a job and renting even the most modest housing turned out to be very difficult. Where they did hire me, I could not pass the medical commission due to health problems. Since 1998, I had a disability status, but before my release, the group was revoked.
I had to eat something, and temporary (one-off) work allowed me to have only a bun of bread and a packet of milk a day. This lasted a month. It was no longer permitted to stay at the social hotel. Then, finding myself on the street without a means of subsistence, I was forced to beg. In the end, to eat, I committed theft, for which I am now here.
Nine months remain until my release. It worries me greatly that the situation will repeat itself, like in 2006, but I am already 35 years old and I really want to start a new life, an honest and decent one. When half of your life is lived and there are no relatives, loved ones, a roof over your head, or health, desperate thoughts arise.
Take, for example, the fact that if I had a disability pension, I would not have ended up in prison. My group was taken away, even though my health state worsened. I will note that the criteria for granting disability status have been in effect since 1966.
The main problem remains the absence of housing, and I ask you to help me solve this problem at least with advice, but better with real action. I understand that in most of my troubles I am to blame myself, but I was punished with deprivation of liberty, and I lost everything – housing, property, and most importantly – health.
Half of the homeless in our country are former prisoners; I know this not by hearsay."
As Vitaliy Kapustin, Executive Director of the Luhansk Regional Charitable Foundation "Teenager," said: this situation, alas, is far from unique. The problem in question is indeed one of the most acute and pressing problems of our society. Unfortunately, not only do individual citizens not want to know about this, but the authorities themselves, knowing perfectly well about its existence and topicality, practically do nothing to improve the situation. And the situation, without a doubt, is approaching critical. And it is not only the people themselves who suffer from this – those released from places of deprivation of liberty – but also everyone else, as this significantly complicates the criminogenic situation in society. A person who has neither housing nor work must have a very strong "life core" (great willpower and aspiration) to withstand the pressure of the prevailing unfavourable circumstances. Some try to "clamber out," but many simply "go with the flow," which sooner or later "brings" them back to the colony. But, unfortunately, even those who try to do something do not endure and commit crimes again. It is very important that the author of the letter understood: to a significant extent, he himself is to blame for his "life upheavals." This is a significant step on the way to improving his life situation. When a person blames others for all their troubles (enemies, the state, officials, etc.), then they are unlikely to exert their own efforts to "become different" themselves. The person understood: one needs to change oneself. And in this case, society and the state are simply obliged to help a person who is striving with all their might for a "normal life." Unfortunately, this is not happening yet, but that does not mean one should "give up."
Vitaliy turned to everyone present with the question: "What can be recommended to the author of the letter and people who are in a similar situation?"
Water does not flow under a lying stone. Therefore, one needs to prepare for release and think through one's actions even six months to a year before the end of the term (full or parole). Again, unfortunately, there is no possibility of guaranteeing that the problems facing one or another person will necessarily be solved, but one cannot sit idly by regardless.
First of all, one must definitely take care to ensure that a passport is prepared by the day of release. Very often, passports are lost during arrest, and a person enters a pre-trial detention centre already without identity documents. There are staff in the colony who deal with these issues, but there are many people preparing for release, and the staff are not always in a condition to keep track of everything. They write letters, send requests, but they simply do not receive answers to a good half of them. Therefore, it is necessary to remember that if you entered the colony without a passport, then be so kind, make your own efforts to obtain a new one in a timely manner. Our "human-loving" Legislator made sure that for a person who has come out to freedom without a passport, the sky would literally seem like a sheepskin. It is good if a person managed to get a "new style" passport before ending up in custody. In this case, a lost passport is easier to restore. Otherwise, one will have to work quite hard, and, alas, success is not guaranteed.
If the passport problem is resolved, then one needs to think about housing and employment. Giving "general" advice on solving the housing problem is probably pointless. There are so many situations that in each individual case, one needs a separate approach. Even similar situations, differing in seemingly insignificant details, are often solved differently. Perhaps, one can draw attention to two points:
A) in some regions, there are social hotels, centres for social adaptation, which can provide temporary shelter (usually no more than a month). During this time, the person must somehow arrange their affairs;
B) in the cities and districts of the region, there are representatives of some religious missions (there are few of them) that can also provide some kind of assistance (here it should be emphasised that for a person who rejects God, the probability of receiving help is significantly lower).
But to get a job, it is not bad to get some civil profession. Construction specialties, machining, and plumbing are in demand. One can find work in other specialties as well. Therefore, it is necessary to make every effort not to "beat around the bush" in the colony, but to work or learn a specialty. A person must decide for themselves in advance where they will go after release and begin the corresponding preparation. To this end, one can take the following steps:
1. Write a letter to the Employment Centre of the district of the intended place of residence. It is no disaster if there is no answer to the first letter; it might get lost – this means one must repeat it. In the letter, give quite full information about yourself, indicate what specialties you possess, and what work you agree to in case of an absence of openings in your specialties.
2. One can write letters to the heads of enterprises that function in the given district with a request for assistance in employment. Undoubtedly, no one can give any guarantees that you will be provided with work or even receive an answer, but every action taken by a person to solve the task increases their chances of success.
3. In most districts and in large cities of the region, various public and human rights organisations operate. It is desirable to write to them in advance, find out the nature of their activities, and the possibility of assistance in solving your problems. One should remember that this step also does not guarantee success, or even assistance, since the organisation may have a completely different profile of activity. However, it is quite possible that they will give you a different address, and you will receive assistance in another public organisation.
At the roundtable meeting, a proposal arose in the speeches to create a Dating and Employment Site for prisoners. This proposal was subjected to a fairly serious discussion.
To create a dating site so that prisoners could get acquainted with female and male pen-pals. After all, there are a mass of cases of positive outcomes, people's fates changed, and a stimulus appeared to return to a normal life.
"Knowing that very many people encounter the problem of employment, I walked around the internet in search of an agency or service that could help in this matter.
So here is what I dug up. There is a decent, in my opinion, portal for job searching in Ukraine and in Kyiv. I did not bother counting how many different professions they have there and reading promotional prospectuses, but immediately contacted a manager to find out if it is realistic to get a job with the help of their office for a former prisoner. The answer was affirmative, and the manager confirmed that there had already been cases of requests (offline), and all those who wanted to found employment."
So if there are any who still cannot find a job, perhaps this portal is what you need.
Why can this not be done in the Luhansk region?
"There are some things that only someone the same can understand. I have to hide my conviction from men who have not sat, it is unpleasant for me. I want honest, open communication. Well, I am not going to sit again?!"
For example, here is what they told me in a women's colony:
Svetlana, 27 years old
I have been looking for such a site for a long time. I am a former prisoner, long at liberty. It is not so much nostalgia, but I would like to chat. The problem of employment after release. This is also a sore point for all CIS countries. Although there are a multitude of legal acts and organisations that allegedly look after, or should look after, prisoners after release, helping them find employment. But in reality, there is nothing like that.
Daria, 33 years old
I believe that correspondence with prisoners is necessary. The point is not even about love and serious relationships, but simply about human support. In prison, there is a very high psychological burden, pressure, and prisoners simply need to be distracted, communicate, get acquainted, and find common interests. I am ready to communicate and understand them, therefore I am for the creation of such a site!
Sergey, a former prisoner. Such a site is necessary. Prisoners lose social connections, they need help to restore them. Yes, the difficulties of direct communication – by law, only letters. And the problem for the majority is writing a letter with a pen, but there is a chic way out – type it on a computer and send it by post. For those who want communication, it does not play a role if they are a "convict" or a "freeman," and everyone is free to choose a friend, partner, or loved one for themselves.
One of the colony psychologists asked the question: "How will the prisoners get on the internet?" It is no secret that mobile phones exist in both prisons and camps, but not many of them are good enough to use the internet.
The submission of applications from convicts, how will it happen? Even with the presence of a phone, doing this is quite difficult, because photos from prison are needed, which you cannot send through a phone to a site with an application.
Different opinions are diverging in different directions.
Summarising the result of this event, one can say with confidence that it did not pass in vain. Thanks to it, employees of colonies and prisons learned in more detail about the help that state and non-state organisations can provide to those who are sitting or have already been released. Let us hope that thanks to the cooperation and partnership of penitentiary institutions with state and non-governmental organisations, significant help and support will be provided to those who are being released from colonies.

Olga Makeeva
1st Category Specialist of the Leninsky District Centre for Social Services for Family, Children, and Youth in Luhansk