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We release
prisoners and their victims into a new future, with your
help!
Jane (not
her real name) was raped one week before her wedding.
Because of the shame she felt, Jane did not share this with
anyone, not even her husband-to-be. For many years she
struggled immensely with the hurt and the shame and could
not come to terms with it all, even after becoming a
Christian. As a Sycamore Tree victim participant, Jane was
determined to press forward and had to face some great
fears; being seated between two prisoners Jane struggled to
hold it all together but she made it through into a great
place of freedom. (She went 30 years before she even told
her husband what happened and prior to her involvement in
PFNZ’s Sycamore Tree programme he was only one of two people
who knew). During the final celebration, in front of some 60
people, Jane told her story publicly – how she was now set
free to get on with her life, she said ”last night I fell
asleep in my husband’s arms for the first time in 31 years”.
There was not a dry eye in the place !
At Prison
Fellowship our concern is for prisoners, victims and their
families. Every day some 30 people leave our 21 prisons,
supposedly rehabilitated, but what happens to them then?
There are also thousands of victims of crime like Jane who
need an emotional release and reconciliation with their
offenders but who will help them?
Our national
correctional system, other than keeping us all “safe”, is
still failing to address what it is meant to,. Some 65% of
offenders return to the prisons’ “revolving doors” within 4
years of their first offence, and as a nation we are not
doing anything effective to bring that number down. The
Government only spends some 6.5% of its $1,000,000,000
annual Corrections costs on rehabilitation and reintegration
services, a pitiful amount given the magnitude of the need.
There are 4
core projects that we want to fund going forward to address
these issues in New Zealand’s correctional system:
Target
Communities
– currently our largest project, to establish over the next
10 years some 800 communities around New Zealand, based on
churches, iwi, hapu and community groups, who will provide
the ongoing levels of support a released prisoner needs to
prevent them going back to prison, ever! We have worked
hard for 2 years, with support from the Ministry of Social
Development and other philanthropists’ funding, now we need
to fund the workers who will take this initiative to every
corner of New Zealand. Funding is urgently needed for this
NOW.
Therapeutic,
faith based communities
– throughout our prisons, and outside, in key communities,
there is an increasing demand to have living communities
where released prisoners, both men and women can really
learn the skills to adjust to living in our society based on
the spiritual transformation that has started in their lives
within prison. We need seed funding of $100,000
for this project to examine the feasibility of establishing
such therapeutic faith based communities, in a purposeful
way, over the next 3 years.
Sustainable enterprises for released
prisoners-
Sustainability is a real buzz word, but for us it means
ensuring that prisoners, when released, perhaps living in
one of our new therapeutic communities, can have purposeful
work from the minute they leave prison, as well as earn
money that can fund our future projects. We want to partner
with enterprises who have ideas and access to capital
funding for such schemes. (Contact Robin Gunston, National
Director for more details)
Restorative
Justice for all
– this project will build our capability of skilled
facilitators over the next few years to ensure that we can
provide far more Victim Offender Conferences / Sycamore Tree
programmes like the one Jane attended in every prison in New Zealand, and in
community settings.
By
supporting our growing work with your generous gifts you
will really change the lives of prisoners, victims and their
families. Over time you will also help to reduce the overall
prison population by giving the required support to released
prisoners. For our part we will continue to strive for
excellence in our administration so that the majority of the
valued gifts you entrust us with are spent wisely.
Link to PFNZ annual report
Hebrews 13
v3 says “remember the prisoners, as if you were in prison
yourselves”. This injunction may be difficult for many of us
to fulfil practically, but those of us involved directly in
Prison Fellowship can do this on your behalf, if you will
generously support us with your gifts.
Thank you on
behalf of the many prisoners, victims and their families you
are assisting.

Robin Gunston
National
Director
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