Back to Society

In cooperation with local partners Tanadgoma and AFEW Ukraine, Mainline supports the ex-prisoners in Georgia. A large percentage of these people use drugs. Via the project ‘Back to Society,’ we devote attention to the specific needs and problems of these ex-prisoners.

The project ‘Back to Society’ is financed by the European Union, starts in 2014 - until 2015.

Focus & collaboration
In 2014, Tanadgoma began setting up so-called ‘social bureaus’ in Georgia. These offer help with psychosocial problems, with the goal of easing the return to society and combating the high rate of recidivism. In this project we work together with the Ministry of Justice (MPLA) and the national probation authorities (NPA) in Georgia.

Efficient precare and aftercare
Hilde Roberts, a Mainline trainer, developed a training program for employees working with probation or in prisons in Georgia. During this training program, Roberts first demonstrated a number of ‘good practices’ from prisons in Europe that are working on effective reintegration and harm reduction. The programs in question have been proved to reduce recidivism and damage to health and to help people find their way back to society.

There was a focus not only on the European examples but also on the Georgian reality. In order to obtain a good picture of the Georgian situation, a study involving prisoners, ex-prisoners, and probation officers was carried out prior to the training. During the training program, the results were presented by the Tanadgoma Centre for Information and Counseling on Reproductive Health, the organization that initiated the project.

After completion of the training program, participants had new, practically applicable

Contact person: Machteld Busz

perspectives on their own work and their own organization. A subsequent step in 2015 is the training of probation personnel on a larger scale. Mainline is involved in the development of the training manuals. Following this training, probation officers have tools they can use to provide better support for the psychosocial rehabilitation of (ex-)prisoners and persons on probation.

Between 2009 and 2012, Mainline worked together with Alternative Georgia and Tanadgoma, two organizations in the capital city of Tbilisi. The project is financially supported by Matra funds. The Dutch police, a public prosecutor, and a judge were involved in order to improve the rights of drug users. Mainline organized meetings of ministerial employees, members of parliament, judges, public prosecutors, and top police and prison administrators in Tbilisi. Afterwards, we carried out studies in prisons to determine the health of (drug-using) prisoners, identify risky behaviour, and assess prisoners' knowledge of infectious diseases.

We provide custom-designed training for employees in prisons and the probation service.
See our trainings