Prison Fellowship

Prison programs:millions of prisoners worldwide are locked away and forgotten. In a harsh Prison environment, they experience further danger, isolation and loss of identity. Without a plan of rehabilitation, most who re-enter society find themselves back behind bars and need inner transformation to break free from this hopeless cycle.prison Fellowship International (pfi) seeks to break the cycle of crime and restore lives, worldwide, through jesus's love. Through signature programs, pfi invites incarcerated men and women to experience transformation from the inside out by exploring topics of faith, responsibility, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Partnering with indigenous chartered affiliates in countries on six continents, pfi ministers to prisoners and their families in culturally relevant ways.since 2014, "the prisoner's journey" (tpj) program - pfi's signature in-prison program - has been changing prisoners' lives. Through tpj we invite incarcerated men and women to experience transformation from the inside out by introducing them to jesus the prisoner and inviting them into a restorative relationship with him. This three-phased program - an invitation which may include an event, eight-session bible-based course and optional follow-on discipleship course - is facilitated inside of prisons by trained prisoners or volunteers. Since inception, over 580,000 prisoners have graduated from the program. Many graduates continue in follow-on discipleship programs. In fy22, tpj operated in prisons in 41 countries across africa, asia pacific, europe, latin america and the caribbean and the middle east and north africa region. In partnership with faith comes by hearing (fcbh), pfi developed its newest in-prison program in fy22: "the listener's way" (tlw). With access to the vast audio bible library of fcbh, pfi now provides prisoners with audio bible courses in their heart languages. Fcbh is providing all audio listening devices and projectors for each Prison that runs this program. Specifically designed to work in low bandwidth environments, prisoners watching and listening to the bible in their native tongue-sometimes for the first time-will have an opportunity to engage with the word of god in a new and powerful way. Pfi undertook extensive preparations and training in fy22 to ensure that the launch of tlw in prisons around the world in fy23 is successful. Seventy five partners plan to have more than a million graduates by fy28.in 2018, pfi contracted with a research team to conduct a three-year, multinational outcome study of our faith-based Prison programming (focused on tpj) to determine its impact on the individual prisoner, the Prison culture, and recidivism. The formal, social-scientific study compared prisoner behavior and outcomes between prisons with tpj and prisons without tpj in two countries, and was conducted by a three-person team led by dr. byron johnson, a leading authority on the scientific study of religion, the efficacy of faith-based organizations, and criminal justice. The first three years of the study are complete, and we have since extended the study timeline. Results show that involvement in tpj increases prisoners' motivation for identify transformation, a sense of meaning in life, and virtuous characteristics (i.e., forgiveness, accountability / responsibility, gratitude, and self-control); it also decreases negative emotional states and the likelihood of engaging in interpersonal aggression.

Communications & education:as the world's most extensive network of faith-based ministries working in Prison systems, pfi develops varied content and resources to fuel a global movement and advance its mission. By drawing attention to the issues and needs of prisoners, their families and victims, pfi seeks to expand the number of people and organizations engaged in transformative work that will help break the cycle of crime and restore lives, worldwide, through jesus' love.in fy22, pfi produced a number of educational materials and tools to influence leaders and grassroots members in varied sectors to become champions for prison-focused restorative practices and equip christians to respond joyfully to the biblical call of jesus to visit him in Prison. Pfi developed a comprehensive resource kit about the results of the first phase of a longitudinal study of "the prisoner's journey" (conducted by baylor university) that shows evidence that its signature in-prison program transforms prisoners and leads to culture change in prisons. Pfi also developed new tools for affiliates and external audiences, including a revamped website to exchange restorative practices (restorativejustice.org) and an affiliate newsletter for the exchange of best practices in key areas.

Children's programs:there are 14 million children of prisoners around the world. These children are among the most vulnerable and marginalized groups, which puts them at high risk of exploitation, abuse and neglect. They are also susceptible to the inter-generational playground-to-prison pipeline. These risks are heightened in countries where poverty is widespread. The stigma of parental incarceration is particularly devastating for children who, as a result, experience trauma, shame and financial challenges.pfi is committed to serving children of prisoners to protect them and provide opportunities for growth in body, mind and spirit. Due to its longstanding work within Prison systems and unprecedented access to prisons across the world, pfi is uniquely positioned to serve children of prisoners, who often fall through the cracks of other organizations and are at risk of repeating self-destructive patterns of their incarcerated parents. Pfi children's programs - "the child's journey" (tcj) and "promisepath" (prp) - provide a variety of assistance to children of prisoners, including access to education, social mentoring, health and medical assistance and spiritual development.since its inception, tcj has served over 11,500 children, with 5,720 served in fy22. Prp was introduced in fy22 in four pilot countries and served over 2,500 children.

Capacity building of partnering organizations:pfi is the world's largest network of Prison ministries, partnering with autonomous, indigenous organizations (chartered affiliates) in more than 100 countries. Pfi supports these affiliates to help them grow internal capacities (infrastructure, finance, governance), to build organizational strength. Through strengthening its partners, pfi in turn increases impact and reach of pfi programming, so more prisoners and families are served and transformed by god's love. Pfi has a variety of capacity building programs and services, including cost-sharing program partnerships, affiliate mentoring, and training and coaching initiatives. For all program partners, pfi conducts annual capacity assessments to track each organization's progress, and tailors services and support for the unique needs and challenges of each partner.

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