The Barbados Probation Service is in need of a few good mentors to help soon-to-be-released offenders.
Deputy Chief Probation Officer Angela Dixon said its Community Pillars Mentorship Programme For The Previously Incarcerated is struggling to find willing male participants while, on the other hand, the male offenders were eagerly signing up for it.
“The negative influences whom they were exposed to before they were imprisoned are always willing and ready to embrace them when they are released. The previously incarcerated are going to have that battle to deal with those negative influences and temptations in addition to how they are treated by society.
“It is critical that, as a previously incarcerated individual, you have a positive support mechanism when you are having that bad day or when something happens, you can message or call your mentor,” she said.
Most of those who are accepted as mentors are already active in the community and therefore have a sense of confidence and comfort in knowing that they are already established and can cultivate the relationship, Dixon said, adding that it had been a while since the last group of men volunteered.
The prison population hovers around 800 inmates, the vast majority of whom are men, while the recidivism is estimated to be about 50 per cent.
When asked about the challenge in attracting male mentors, she indicated it was suggested that men – unlike women – were reluctant to share with each other and therefore were not inclined to seek out such support or give it.
Dixon further highlighted that the role of a mentor was to provide support, guidance and assist them in the reintegration process.
“There are a lot of things that we take for granted that for a previously incarcerated individual could be overwhelming. For instance, when some persons went into prison they were not exposed to the level of technology we have today. They would not know how to acquire a TAMIS number or any of the basic things that we consider commonplace today, even looking for a job online.
“In the initial stages being a mentor would involve assisting persons to acquire basic things. We need to be mindful that the entire time a person is in prison they are told when to get up, when to eat, what to do and when to do it. Once released there is a new-found freedom and they have to try to navigate that reality,” stated Dixon.
To be part of the one-year mentorship programme the minimum age is 21 and volunteers must display a certain level of maturity, have a clean police certificate of character and go through orientation.
“I have found that women are more eager to become mentors. We do not have a large female population and the nature of female offending is different to that of male. In most instances, when women are released, they have the necessary support systems to facilitate the transition. There have been a few previously incarcerated women who joined the programme indicating that they recognised that they had outgrown their previous friendships and were looking for positive support,” Dixon stated.
Mentors are also required to complete an application form and provide references as part of the screening process, which is conducted by the management team of the Barbados Probation Service and the reintegration team of the Barbados Prison Service.
The men are then paired with compatible inmates and the first visitation takes place at least three months prior to the offender regaining his freedom.
Dixon said the appeal was going out for male mentors since the inmates were eager to take part in the programme and the service did not want a situation to develop where mentees were disappointed because there was a shortage of mentors.
