In a visit he made to people who are following a rehabilitation program in the Caritas community in Baħar i-ħagħaq, Prime Minister Robert Abela reiterated that this Government believes that every person should have the opportunity to rehabilitate themselves and walk forward.
This is why the Government will once again be investing in the Prison Inmates Program which is run by Caritas Malta, so that these people are given the attention and support they need to get out of drug addiction and they are more and more ready to better integrate into society after serving their sentence.
Accompanied by the Minister for the Interior, Security, Reforms and Equality Byron Camilleri and the Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms and Equality Rebecca Buttigieg, he announced that the Government, with an investment of €1.3 million, will continue to invest in this program for the next three years to continue offering a home environment designed specifically for drug-addicted prisoners while they are serving their sentence.
Prime Minister Robert Abela said he will continue to strengthen the rehabilitative policy that the Government is implementing, including the one that sees more half-way-houses being developed for those who are discounting the last part of the sentence of imprisonment to give them the necessary tools to prepare them to live again in society, while investment is also being made in voluntary organizations that work directly in prison rehabilitation such as Caritas Malta, the Għqda mid-Dlam yet -Light and the Rise Foundation. In parallel, the Victim Support Agency was also established to provide support and protection to the victims of the same criminal offences.
In a discussion he had with the eleven people who are currently following the Prison Inmates Programme, the Prime Minister also referred to another reform that the Government will be putting up for discussion in the coming days as promised in the electoral program, about the possibility that people whose conduct is tainted are given the opportunity to stop carrying the label of conduct for life. Evidence of a Government that with bold reforms is continuing to address specific realities. The Prime Minister ended by thanking Caritas Malta and all the workers involved in this program for the good they are doing in society.
Anthony Gatt, Director of Caritas Malta, expressed his appreciation for the collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and the Correctional Services Agency, as well as for this substantial help. It meant how the Government’s investment hand in hand with the commitment of Caritas Malta is leading to people who have served a prison sentence and had a drug addiction becoming full members in our society again and giving back a valuable contribution . The Director of Caritas Malta mentioned with satisfaction a number of success stories including those of people who did the Prison Inmates Program and who over time also became Caritas Malta workers and who today are serving of example. He ended by thanking the Prime Minister for this visit which he interpreted as a clear message of the dignity of these people.
Photo: OPM
