Chen Jingyu 2024-12-29
Reporters Chen Jingyu, Chen Xinyu, Chen Yunan / Interview report
After rehabilitated people return to society, they face challenges not only in livelihood, but also in problems such as prejudice. However, through various supports from the government, associations and families, they can gradually regain their direction and confidence in life through skills training and psychological counseling. These resources not only help them adjust psychologically, but also effectively reduce the risk of recidivism. Although prejudices and misunderstandings still exist, their stories prove that through persistence and support, everyone can find hope in adversity and start a new future.
Table of Contents
Employability skills to connect with the future
Warm companionship and regaining hope
Eliminate prejudice and create a better future
Psychological counseling to reduce the chance of re-offending
Rebirth from adversity, start a business with heart and start again
Employability skills to connect with the future
Chen Meixia, director of the New Taipei branch of the Taiwan Rehabilitation Protection Association (hereinafter referred to as Taiwan Rehabilitation Protection Association), said that no matter how long the sentence is, prisoners will still be isolated from society, even if it is only one month. Therefore, the Taiwan Rehabilitation and Protection Association will send each inmate to the prison for close counseling one month before he is released from prison. Rehabilitation protection is not mandatory as a voluntary protection. After asking the inmate’s wishes, he will Employment counseling will be provided in the fourth week.
Prisons also have many resources for skills training. In September 2020, the Ministry of Justice announced the implementation of the newly revised “Implementation Measures for Prisoners’ Work”. Prisons cooperate with enterprises to promote independent work outside prison, Zheng Yuanhao, an assistant researcher at the Crime Prevention Research Center of the Judicial Officers College, mentioned , these friendly manufacturers are mostly in industries with obvious labor shortages in society, such as industry, light industry and agriculture. This can not only improve the problem of lack of work, but also allow rehabilitated people to learn skills. Compared with the entrusted processing in traditional prisons, it is more conducive to returning to society after being released from prison.
Correctional schools take Dunpin Middle School as an example. The school has four professional groups. Principal Guo Zongyu explained that students can use reformatory education time to learn skills. The school also has different types of national examination rooms to facilitate students to obtain technical certificates. If a student wants to continue studying after the correction period, the school will also assist in making arrangements to transfer the student to a suitable school.
Chen Meixia believes that allowing rehabilitated people to have legitimate jobs is an important condition for preventing recidivism. Only with a stable income can they have a stable life. Chen Yanjun, director of the Guidance Resource Center of the Rehabilitated Youth Care Association, also said that the association has many workplace relay stations, such as the “Future Cafe”, which provides a “buffer period” for rehabilitated youths to connect before returning to society.
Warm companionship and regaining hope
In addition to the practical courses of technical and vocational training, Mr. Wu, a rehabilitated person, believes that the support given by his family also has great power. He mentioned that when he was in Taipei Prison, the prison provided yoga, spiritual courses, etc., which allowed rehabilitated prisoners and their families to participate together, thereby enhancing their relationship. Lin Yingzhu, secretary-general of the Christian Rehabilitation Fellowship, also explained that all prisons are now implementing family support programs. Taking Taoyuan Women’s Prison as an example, children have been invited to participate in activities. Through interaction, not only the understanding between the two parties is enhanced, but also Able to recognize responsibilities to the family.
Guo Zongyu said that each student has two face-to-face interviews every Monday to Friday. If there is time or transportation inconvenience, it can also be done through video. On Mother’s Day, Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival, interviews will also be arranged. . If there is an achievement performance, parents will be invited to participate in the event. He said frankly that in fact, after students leave school, their biggest support is still their families.
For these students, Guo Zongyu mentioned that government departments provide resources to supplement the physical and psychological needs of students. For example, starting from 2022, social workers will be arranged to connect with each student as soon as he enters the school, hoping to build a trusting relationship through long-term interactions. . He also shared that the tutors and tutors of each class are also very attentive. When walking around the campus, teachers and students can often be seen talking. He hopes that through companionship, these students can feel the warmth of being cared for and valued.
Eliminate prejudice and create a better future
Chen Meixia mentioned that rehabilitated people will indeed face many difficulties in the job search process, so in addition to encouragement, they should also provide timely psychological construction. Guo Zongyu added that although challenges cannot be completely avoided, it can help them understand the situations they may face in advance and help them cope better.
Chen Yanjun shared that many customers did not know at first that the employees of the Future Cafe were actually the rehabilitated people served by the association. They often noticed the tattoos on the rehabilitated teenagers when delivering food. Only after learning more about the story behind the cafe did they understand it. meaning. She believes that this is a good opportunity to change society’s stereotyped impression of rehabilitated teenagers. At the same time, rehabilitated teenager Ah Fu (pseudonym) also used the association’s resources to record a podcast to share his own experiences and those of other rehabilitated teenagers, hoping to let society better understand their efforts and growth. Only by eliminating prejudice and supporting each other can we truly create a new path for them and inject more warmth and hope into society.
Psychological counseling to reduce the chance of re-offending
According to the crime situation and analysis released by the Crime Prevention Research Center of the Judicial Officer College, Zheng Yuanhao said that judging from the trends of various crimes, different types of crimes show different changes. In the past decade, the number of fraud crimes has slowly increased, while traditional crimes such as theft and homicide have declined year by year. Overall, Taiwan’s crime rate has remained flat in the past ten years.
Wang, Po-Chi, associate professor at the Department of Criminal Justice, said that today’s crime patterns are becoming increasingly complex due to technological advancement, and new fraud methods and emerging drugs are emerging one after another. Therefore, how to prevent them has become a crucial issue. As for both drunk driving and drug crimes involving addiction problems, Zheng Yuanhao mentioned that although heavier penalties have a deterrent effect, they have limited actual effect on reducing recidivism rates. For example, increasing the number of days in jail for drunk driving offenders will do little to help them overcome their alcohol addiction and avoid committing another crime. Therefore, the government has promoted “drug deferred prosecution” since 2018, aiming to allow drug addicts to enter the community or medical institutions to receive drug and psychological treatment during their probation period, thereby reducing the risk of recidivism.
In addition, Wang, Po-Chi pointed out that most juvenile crimes often stem from family dysfunction or peer influence. Correctional schools pay great attention to the psychological problems of teenagers and provide one-on-one care and counseling. Li Yichang, secretary of Dunpin Middle School, explained that the school has multiple professional consultation rooms and employs licensed psychologists to assist students with professional counseling such as repairing psychological trauma, regulating emotions, and planning careers, so as to help them gradually get back on track.
Huang Ziyuan, a social worker of the Libertaziz Education Foundation, said that psychological counseling is particularly important in crime prevention and treatment. Psychological counseling is like a bridge. Through the negotiation process, we can understand the real needs and thoughts of the inmates, and we can take this opportunity to deliver the correct message. concepts and directions, allowing the inmates to make correct judgments after thinking, to prevent recidivism, and to further assist them in changing their behavior.
Rebirth from adversity, start a business with heart and start again
Due to society’s labeling of rehabilitated people, many rehabilitated people choose entrepreneurship as an opportunity to start over. Lan Yongqi, founder of Lan Yongqi Lantern Art Studio, a former gang leader, said that he took a lantern-making course while serving his sentence and became interested in it. After he was released from prison, he decided to wash his hands of the problem, replaced the gun he once held in his hand with tools for making lanterns, and founded a lantern art workshop. He mentioned that he faced challenges due to lack of funds in the early days of starting his business, but as he accepted various tenders, his income gradually stabilized. Even in 2010, Japan invited Taiwanese lanterns to participate in the exhibition for the first time, and Lan Yongqi successfully exhibited his lanterns in Japan.
Liu Youcheng, the owner of the “Legendary Big Brother Handicraft Workshop” who also started his own business as a reborn person, was once a corner brother with many subordinates, and he did not shy away from using this experience as the name of his stall. Liu Youcheng mentioned that in the early days of starting his business, he set up a stall and sold egg rolls at a night market, but his daily income was only a few hundred yuan. However, the successful opening of the store now can be attributed to Xu Dawei, the prosecutor of the Hsinchu District Prosecutor’s Office in Taiwan. When he passed the night market one time, he guessed based on his professional intuition that Liu Youcheng might be related to the prison, so he stepped forward to inquire. After learning about Liu Youcheng’s difficulties, he took the initiative to help him find resources, assist him in applying for interest-free business loans and purchase necessary equipment, and also encouraged him to participate in vocational training and obtain a baking certificate.
The Care Association for Rehabilitated Youth provides job vacancies through the Future Café to help rehabilitated youth rebuild their lives. Ah Fu said that he frequently asked for leave from work due to unfinished cases and the need to frequently go to court or for examinations, which caused his employer to significantly reduce his working hours, which made him frustrated. Later, he learned about the Rehabilitation Youth Care Association through the resources of the protection officer. As his job gradually stabilized, his life became more and more normal, so he stayed away from the bad friends of the past. He also shared that he is currently studying in the Department of Social Work and plans to engage in caring for rehabilitated teenagers in the future, and hopes to use his experience to help more lost teenagers.
Guo Zongyu said, “No matter what happened in the past, everyone should have a new opportunity to change.” Lan Yongqi, Liu Youcheng and Ah Fu successfully achieved a reversal in their lives by accepting support from all walks of life and combining their personal efforts. They gradually regained their self-worth and let past mistakes no longer hinder their lives.