Koinè. Presidium for community justice in the eastern sicily

The project aims at the construction in Eastern Sicily of a territorial Presidium for Community justice in. It will be able to inform, assist and socially reintegrate people detained in Penal Institutions located in the Provinces of Catania, Messina, Syracuse and Ragusa. Beneficiaries are also those people in external criminal execution t or subject to alternative or community measures in charge of the Territorial Offices of External Criminal Execution (UEPE) and Offices of Social Service for Minors (USMM).

MEDU, within the partnership, works toward the overall goal of promoting the social inclusion and psychophysical well-being of the direct recipients of the project through psychological, psychiatric and psychotherapeutic support and linguistic-intercultural mediation. In the period of sentence execution, psychological and psychiatric assistance play a key role in helping to improve the quality of life of prisoners, strengthening their level of self-esteem, reducing states of distress and stress by promoting a more positive balance between the person and the prison environment.
The activity is in continuity with the projects LiberaMente (2021) and Psy (2022). through which MEDU has provided medical-psychological support to prisoners with psychological distress detained at the Ragusa Prison working in synergy with the psycho-educational team of the Penal Institution.
Immigrant people, in particular, are in extremely fragile conditions due to the absence – in most cases – of social and family networks in Italy, language barriers, poor understanding of Italian norms, traumatic experiences in the countries of origin of during the journey to Italy.
Thanks to Koinè project, the MEDU team will have an additional team composed of intercultural mediators and psychotherapists to start a new intervention at the “Piazza Lanza” Prison in Catania
In network with the other Ragusa and Catania entities, MEDU will also be involved in criminal mediation activities and the development of Individual Action Plans for the beneficiaries identified.

Type of services offered by the presidium (partnership):

• Development of Individual Action Plans (IAPs) in collaboration with the Offices of the Administration of Justice
• Legal and administrative advice on extrajudicial facts and needs
• Intercultural-linguistic mediation
• Psychological, psychiatric and psychotherapeutic support
• Territorial Educational Action especially with regard to minor children of single women prisoners
• Criminal mediation
• Employability support through active labor policy measures
• Promotion of work placement and/or social inclusion Internships
• Provision of temporary economic subsidies to support personal and housing autonomy for members of families in difficulty
• Vocational or art-therapy work

The Presidium involves a Multidisciplinary Team composed of the following experts: Project Director; Psychotherapists; Psychologists; Tutors; Educators; Criminal Mediators; Lawyers and Legal Advisors; Linguistic and Cultural Mediators; Counselors.

The Penal Institutions that have joined the project are:C.C. Catania “Piazza Lanza”; C.C. Catania “Bicocca”; C.C. Caltagirone; C.C. Giarre; I.P.M. of Catania Bicocca; C.C. Barcellona P.G.; C.C. Messina; C.C. Ragusa.

Project Summary

Project name:

Koinè. Presidium for community justice in the eastern Sicily

Project duration:

18 months

Donor

Sicily Region – Cassa Ammende

Beneficiaries

1) Adults and young adults, both italians and foreigners, detained in Penal Institutions or in charge of the UEPEs of Eastern Sicily, with priority for those:
a) living conditions of personal and/or family fragility;
b) who are in the process of being discharged from the Penal Institution;
c) who are parents of minors;
d) who present a high risk of recidivism due to drug or gambling addictions;
2) families with persons detained or in external criminal execution, where psychosocial, educational or economic support interventions are needed;
3) communities or persons offended by crimes, where the implementation of restorative justice programs is possible.

Partnership

Cooperativa “Prospettiva Futuro” (CT), “Centro Astalli” di Catania, Consorzio “Il Nodo” (CT), Cooperativa “Prospettiva” (CT), Cooperativa “Marianella Garcia” (CT), Cooperativa “S. Maria della Strada” (ME), “Arché” Impresa Sociale (CT), MEDU, Cooperativa “Trame di Quartiere” (CT), CNCA, Associazione “I Tetti Colorati” (RG), Associazione di Volontariato “S. Maria della Strada” (ME), Centro di Solidarietà F.A.R.O. (ME)

News from the project