PRISON FELLOWSHIP ROMANIA IS A CHRISTIAN FOUNDATION WITH OVER 21 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN WORKING WITH VULNERABLE GROUPS. WE ASSIST DISADVANTAGED PERSONS, FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES BY COLLABORATING WITH THE PENITENTIARY AND THE SOCIAL CARE SYSTEM, CHURCHES AND OTHER NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. OUR WORK IS GUIDED BY CHRISTIAN VALUES, AS WE WISH TO BRING THE LOVE AND CARE OF CHRIST IN THE LIFE OF THE LESS PRIVILEGED PERSONS. BY THE CHRISTIAN VALUES PROMOTED SUCH AS ALTRUISM, COMPASSION, JUSTICE, PEACE AND LOVE PFR WISHES TO CONTRIBUTE IN GENERATING A HIGH LEVEL OF SPIRITUAL, MORAL, SOCIAL AND MATERIAL WELL-BEING FOR IT’S BENEFICIARIES.
PRISON FELLOWSHIP’S MISSION IS TO ENCOURAGE THE REHABILITATION AND REINTEGRATION OF VULNERABLE PERSONS, WHO ARE EXPOSED TO SOCIAL RISK AND CRIME Through our actions we contribute every day to a more secure and inclusive society. Our scope is to assist the social integration of vulnerable persons - abandoned children, children originating from poor families, young persons who leave the social care institutions, families/individuals/groups who deal with a precarious socio-economic situation, homeless persons, current and former inmates. These beneficiaries are prone or exposed to a high risk of committing offenses. In order to achieve this scope, PFR provides specialized services within its programs and centres, such as: psycho-therapy, educational training, vocational counseling and many others.
PFR is currently running 6 programs designed for each category of beneficiaries: 1. The Day Center for Children at risk 2. The Christian Residential Center for Abandoned Children 3. The Christian Residential Center for Homeless Persons 4. Angel Network 5. The Community Assistance program 6. Community Security Department
1. THE DAY CENTER FOR CHILDREN where the little ones receive school guidance and counseling for developing the appropriate skills for life.
The beneficiaries of the Center are children with a high risk of commiting crime or children which already committed offenses. Also, the families of these children can be considered beneficiaries. The children who constitute the target group suffer from multiple psychological and social problems such as: belonging poor families, single parents, conflicting relations
among
parents,
history
and
patterns of crime, domestic violence, alcohol problems and problems related to school.
2. THE CHRISTIAN RESIDENTIAL CENTER FOR ABANDONED CHILDREN where children under 18 receive shelter and counseling. In the Residential Center we assist children (the majority from Cluj county), who left their homes and ended on the streets, or who are experiencing problems in their families. Usually, the families of provenience face a range of social problems such as: financial vulnerability, lack of housing, lack of employment and other issues. In most cases, the members of these families are unable to assume the parental role because they lack parental skills or knowledge on effective educational methods.
3. THE CHRISTIAN RESIDENTIAL CENTER FOR HOMELESS PERSONS where we offer shelter to young persons dealing with social risk. The beneficiaries of this center are many of the adolescents of over 18 years who leave the institutional child care system, young offenders and persons without a place to live. All of these individuals need social assistance, a shelter and a place to work – that is why we house them in our shelter
and
offer
them
specialized
counseling and training in order to help them gain independency.
4. ANGEL NETWORK a program for the children and families of the inmates
The program is comprised of 3 interventions: 1. The „Angel Tree� Donation Campain in which inmates’ families receive packages with basic goods (food, clothes, school supplies etc.) and the children receive presents, together with congratulation cards from their inprisoned parent 2. Psycho-Social Assistance - we will offer proffesional counseling to the inmates children based on individual evaluations of the emotional and behavior problems. 3. Extra-curricular camps are meant to facilitate the social reintegration of the children belonging to the prisoners
5. Community assistance program
The beneficiaries included in this program are vulnerable communities, groups and families who are exposed to a high risk of crime or/and social exclusion due to their socio-economic situation. We focus mainly on poor communities and Roma ethnic groups. The main purpose of this program is to offer direct assistance in the form of social, medical and material support to the beneficiaries. Our actions are expected to increase the quality of life for our beneficiaries, while, at the same time increasing the level of inclusion and decreasing criminality.
3. Community Security Department a program for the rehabilitation of inmates
The target group is formed of offenders sentenced to custodial or non-custodial sentences and their families. Within this program we prepare inmates for liberation. PFR relies on 68 permanent volunteers which are present every week in each of the 15 prisons from our country. Most of our volunteers (50) bring spiritual relief to the beneficiaries by preaching the word of Christ, while the other (18) volunteers
are
social
assistants
or
psychologists that guide the prisoners and prepare them for a better reintegration into society.
1+1 Social Store is a self-financing mechanism developed and implemented by our foundation It is important for us to have a constant source of financing in order to assist our beneficiaries. The funds generated by the store are used to support the programs and the activity of the three centers.
Our foundation promotes active community involvement Persons and organizations who are willing to help are able to do so through voluntary work in the benefit of the vulnerable groups that the foundation serves. We often collaborate with churches and local insitutions, which provides us with volunteers for our programs.