Today, Head of the Penal Sanctions Enforcement Directorate Mr Dejan Carević together with the representatives of the German non-governmental organisation ‘Help’ presented training and group therapy equipment for convicts at the District Prison and the Special Prison Hospital in Belgrade. ‘The prisons are conducting trainings in vocations in deficit, such as baking, welding, carpentry and print-making. Our aim is for former convicts to have a trade once they have served their sentences and to find employment more easily’, Mr Carević said. He added that the training certificates would not disclose the fact that the training was completed during the serving of sentences so as to avoid potential social stigmatisation.
Mr Carević noted that the Ministry of Justice and the Penal Sanctions Enforcement Directorate would continue to improve the housing conditions of persons deprived of liberty. He also thanked ‘Help’ for its support in many re-socialisation projects and trainings which were helping former convicts re-integrate into the society more easily.
Deputy Executive Director of ‘Help’ Mr Timo Stegeman said that the NGO, together with the Directorate, had been implementing projects since 2014 with the objective to create new opportunities for convicted persons and former convicts and their families.
The District Prison in Belgrade has received new equipment for product packaging in the bakery where certified bakers training would start in September. It has also received new washing machines and driers, vehicle washing and floor cleaning machines as well as computer equipment. From now on, patients at the Special Prison Hospital would be able to use the new tools and equipment for group therapy in the carpentry and arts department, including various sports training equipment.
The equipment worth 30,000 euros has been evenly funded by the Directorate and the NGO ‘Help’.