Belonging
The Social Offices assist formerly incarcerated people and their families
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The difficulty with the regularization of documents is only a fragment of the challenge of being a person discharged from the prison system in Brazil, because it´s effect esxtends far beyond the penalty. “When we are in prison, we lose track of things, time, day-to-day functioning. When I left, I had no information at all”, says Carlos*, from Mato Grosso do Sul, a state in the Brazilian Midwest.
After spending six years in prison, the young man went to a friend for advice and heard about the Social Offices — a methodology created by the CNJ, qualified and expanded with the support of the UNDP. It directs people who have left the prison system and their family members access to a network of support services — both public and provided by the civil society — in areas such as professional qualification, documentation, health and housing. Currently, there are more than 30 Social Offices in 21 states, with new units under negotiation with local public authorities in a shared management system.
“I got there and in two days I had my birth certificate. The social worker called me and asked if I didn’t want to take the ID too, it was very fast”, recalls Carlos. “I work as a refrigeration assistant, doing maintenance of air conditioning devices. So, without a document, I can’t get into buildings and companies”, he explains. “I was very well received and oriented. Whenever I pass by there, I come back to say hello to everyone. ”
Released from prison and assisted by the Social Office in Maricá, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Márcia* and her son took training courses and plan to set up a beauty salon, a story that thrills Eliane Ferraz, who coordinates the unit.
“This boy spent years stigmatized by having a mother who went through the system. But now, what do you see? Love, dreams, partnership. This construction is the result of the work of our team”, — Eliane Ferraz, Social Office coordinator in Maricá
The coordinator highlights the methodology of the Singular Integrated Project, developed with the support of UNDP, as a differential. It consists of an interview script to identify spheres of sociability that can be enhanced during and after prison life. With a special attention to diversity and the different life paths, the person is invited to freely report their life experience. It is from this conversation that the multidisciplinary team performs psychosocial care, establishes bonds and directs the person to the social network of services, always aligned with individual needs.
In April 2021, the Virtual Social Office application was launched. The digital tool has already expanded to five thousand users, who download the app looking for useful information, such as temporary shelters, communal restaurants and also to keep track of their penal processes through the Sistema Eletrônico de Execução Unificado (Unified Electronic System for Penal Enforcement). Known as SEEU, the system is another front of action of the Fazendo Justiçaƒ Program with the CNJ and UNDP to eliminate piles of paper processes, slowness and expiration of deadlines. With the technical support of the program, SEEU currently integrates more than 1.5 million cases in 35 courts in the country, reducing by up to 98% the time for granting benefits provided by law.
These stories are featured in the publication “Fazendo Justiça — Learn stories of real impact promoted by the program in the context of deprivation of liberty.” Produced by the Communications Department of the Fazendo Justiça program, this publication shares stories of lives transformed by the program’s positive impact. To access the full material, click here: https://www.cnj.jus.br/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/historias-fazendo-justica-en.pdf
Fazendo Justiça is a partnership between the National Secretariat of Criminal Policie (SENAPPEN), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Brazil, and the National Council of Justice (CNJ). All the individuals featured in the publication were interviewed between December 2021 and April 2022.
* Some names have been changed to protect the identity of individuals
