Prisoners often come from a background of conflict that was abusive and violent.  Their families have been torn by effects of unresolved conflicts and unhealthy conflict handling.
Once in prison, they are excluded and forgotten by our society. The most affected remains the women and children. 

Prisoners need opportunities and resources to effectively deal with their past and to constructively engage in rebuilding their lives, families and community. If not, they are least likely to succeed in life after release outside the prison and the worst is they are more likely to commit crime.
 

At Peacemakers our intervention aims at reducing recidivism through psycho-social rehabilitation and family re-integration of the prisoners in collaboration with the Department of Prisons and Correctional Services, Govt. Of Karnataka and the Bengaluru Central Prisons, Bengaluru.

It was initiated by social workers from TISS – Andria Lobo and followed by Ashmira – on a Tata Trust supported fellowship of TISS. Looking at the immense need for professional intervention and in order to sustain the impact, Peacemakers committed for long-term work among the women inmates of prisons and their families. Since 2018, the work is extended to male under-trials and convicts with  psychiatric illness, under-trial male youth in the age group of 18 to 25 years and male convicts.

The framework for rehabilitation program integrates Mental Health and Wellness Recovery (MHWR) by adapting Wellness Model developed by Dr. Bill Hettler, Co-founder of the Wellness Institute (NWI). The intervention covers six areas of wellbeing, namely Physical Wellness, Emotional Wellness, Intellectual Wellness, Social Wellness, Occupational Wellness, and Spiritual Wellness