Leading A Legal Life

It costs $100,000 per annum to incarcerate a woman, and as RAW’s participants have a history of repeat offending many have cost this country more than $1 million each to date.  Breaking the pattern also removes the amplified cost to society of their potential future criminal activity and the impact on those she supports and on those who support her.

We are starting to see real impact on recidivist offending with none of the RAW women sentenced for new crimes to date.  It is usually the case recidivist offending escalates in frequency and intensity over time so this result is an important early IMPACT indicator for RAW that even a short time with RAW is having IMPACT.

There is no time limit to how long a woman remains living within the model.  Each woman’s journey is unique to her aspirations for herself and her whānau.  Those that remain living within the model for a year or more are building purposeful and sustainable legal lives, many making massive change in their kō­rero.

Education

As with many women who go to prison, most of the RAW women have not completed NCEA at school, let alone trained for a career.  For those RAW women who graduate with a tertiary qualification many will be the first in their whānau to do so.

Most who choose education, study at WINTEC or the University of Waikato which provide scholarships for the RAW women in a range of certificate, diploma and degree programmes. 

Click here to read about Patricia’s study and work experience.

“Imagine a world where we invested more money in educating incarcerated people than punishing them. What if the children who need the most love are given mental health services and counselling instead of being funnelled into adult penal institutions?… I pray the administration will see that the people in prison are people. They can be educated, and they can change.”

LEARNING IS WHAT CREATES CHANGE

Educational access for at-risk youth deters criminal activity. Educational access for inmates engages a depressed population. And, educational access ameliorates the harsh economic realities experienced in a life after prison. But this deep, systemic discrimination has prevented this population from education, and thus, alternative career pathways.

 We have a responsibility – an imperative – to be vocal on social issues large and small.

- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rikers-closing-room-reform-mass-incarceration-jason-wingard

Whānau Reconnection

By coming to RAW the women are committing to changing themselves, so they can be better mothers and role models for their whānau.  Initially, the women live without their tamariki but visits are encouraged and supported from the transition period.

The ultimate goal is seeing each woman reunited with her tamariki and able to provide a safe and healthy home to raise her whānau.  How quickly tamariki return to a woman depends on her support network caring for her tamariki, her history, study or work opportunities and personal progress with RAW.

“For me it isn’t just about us ‘fixing them’ – it’s about empowering those that come from disadvantaged and criminal backgrounds to realise the potential that they have to make a difference within their own families. It is about showing them that they can be different and that they are the key to that difference. It is about investing them with sense of themselves and a right to live a life free of hassle and harassment”

From Celia Lashlie – The Journey to Prison”

Employment

Recidivist offenders released into the community are far less likely to gain employment yet research shows steady employment can reduce re-offending.  RAW has developed an employment strategy which focuses on:

• Working towards permanent and capable employment in areas that fulfil a woman’s vision or dreams
• Advancing on the job training for fulfilling employment
• Facilitating employment opportunities with employers
• Creating workplace understanding on the importance of support from work peers
• Creating stability for employees through incubated living that gives employers surety

Employment which is secure, engaging, challenging, or fulfils a person’s vision or dream is shown to reduce a person’s risk of re-offending.  RAW works with each woman to facilitate training and employment within a broader plan of support which addresses her needs and aspirations. RAW develops relationships with relevant prospective employers and ensures the transition into employment is smooth and supported for the woman, her work colleagues and employer.

Click here to see examples of some of the employment opportunities RAW Women have gained.

Impact In The Community

The RAW women are continually encouraged to volunteer their time within the RAW model as it provides a safe environment for them as well as the wider community.

While still a relatively young model there is a growing trend for greater participation and advocacy the longer women remain in the model.  An exciting development is the RAW women speaking to students through low decile schools who are at-risk of being on a journey to prison.

Aspirational Life Worth Living

While we want to believe all New Zealander’s have the same opportunities to dream big dreams and pursue them, the reality is quite different.  Many of the RAW women have led colourful and eventful lives but their lives have also invariably involved addiction, poverty, violence and undereducation which has led to living off the proceeds of crime.  To be living a life pursuing their dreams, before coming to RAW, was something other people did. 

To sustain a legal life it needs to be a purposeful life.  RAW walks alongside each woman to assist her to identify what her purpose is, and who and what needs to be in her life to maintain her vision and dreams.