Inmate rehabilitation programme extended for three more years

The Corradino Correctional Facility and Caritas have signed an agreement that will allow prison inmates to undergo an eight-month rehabilitation programme.

The agreement covers a three-year period, and roughly €250,000 has been earmarked for the project.

A total of 18 inmates will be able to take part in the programme - 14 men and four women - and they will be chosen on the basis of specific criteria, home affairs minister Carmelo Abela, who presided over the signing, said.

The minister explained that ideally, the inmates chosen should be nearing the end of their sentence. "This way they can go back to their communities and families and stand a better chance of getting their life back on track," he said, adding that this does not mean that those with longer sentences will be excluded.

"Everyone should be given the opportunity to cure himself, irrespective of the sentence being served," Abela said.

The project hopes to build on the success of the past three years, which he said saw some 60 residents of the correctional facility take part in programmes, he added.

Abela stressed the importance of keeping up the fight against "drugs and drug traffickers," however, he said that helping people out of additional should remain a priority.

Caritas director Leonid McKay thanked the prison administration and the minister for their cooperation on the project.

McKay emphasised the importance of understanding that victims of addiction are going through many different problems despite the fact that in every case, it manifests itself through drug addiction.

They explained that the service offered by Caritas is one of a 'therapeutic community.'

"We do not work on drugs as such, but on the person as a whole, including the family," he said.

President emeritus George Abela, who was also present at the signing, appealed to those suffering from addiction not to give up, even in the face of relapse.

He also appealed to employers to do their part by not discriminating against those who have rehabilitated themselves.