Being a parent is already a challenge, but being one behind bars is even more so. How can you maintain a bond with your children when your daily life is marked by bars, supervised conversations and imposed distances?
The answer comes from “Free inside to grow outside”, a project that aims to transform prison from a space of separation to a place of family reconstruction.
Thanks to this initiative, promoted by “Con i Bambini nell'ambito del Fondo” to combat child educational poverty, the first Participatory Educational Pacts have been activated, tools that directly involve imprisoned parents, their children and institutions to create tailor-made paths that help rebuild and maintain family ties.
Behind this project is the Panta Rei Sardegna cooperative, which with a team of social workers, psychologists and pedagogists has already started personalized paths for five families (and the number is destined to grow).
So far, about 60 meetings have been held with the families involved. It always starts with a dialogue, to understand fears, difficulties and desires. Then we move on to action: on the one hand, detained parents can participate in group psychological support courses to reflect on their role and acquire new parenting skills. On the other, their children can access educational and recreational activities, such as theater and music workshops, trips and sports, but also after-school programs for those with learning difficulties.
One of the most innovative aspects of the project is the launch of the first social and work inclusion internships within the industrial laundry of the Uta prison, managed by the Elan cooperative. For a detained parent, having the opportunity to work is a concrete step towards social reintegration and, above all, real economic help for one's family.
Prison often represents a painful fracture in emotional bonds. “Free Inside to Grow Outside” shows that, with the right support, it can instead become a place of awareness and reconstruction, where parenthood is not put on hold, but finds new ways to express itself.