Rehabilitating young offenders

Working with the Western Cape Regional YMCA and two local implementing partners (Cape Town YMCA and Cape Flats YMCA), Y Care International has been supporting the rehabilitation of young offenders and young people at risk of offending since 2007. 

With little access to education and employment, many disadvantaged young people in the Western Cape turn to crime. Young offenders released from prison often face stigma and social exclusion and are often unable to find employment. This leads to high reoffending rates.

How we are helping
YMCA youth workers offer guidance and counselling to up to 400 young offenders in detention each year, providing young men with the opportunity to learn vocational, literacy and life skills. The training opportunities help to build confidence and self-esteem and allow offenders to plan for their future.

After leaving prison, young people are also helped to re-integrate into their families and communities. The project also works with young men and women in rehabilitation centres, providing them with life skills and personal development training to improve their self-esteem and prepare them for life back in their communities.

Young ex-offenders are trained as peer mentors and visit secondary schools to discuss their experiences and discourage others from offending. Students are also able to visit detention centres to see first-hand what daily life in detention is like. The YMCAs also run youth camps where young people who may be at risk of offending, can take part in activities such as life skills training, sports and recreational activities, workshops in anger management and conflict resolution.

As well as transforming the lives of these young people, the project also aims to change community attitudes towards ex-offenders by showing that young people can make a positive change in their lives and become valued members of the community.

What we've achieved so far

• Many of the YMCA project workers are ex-offenders and have been effective in engaging with and supporting the rehabilitation of other young people in conflict with the law
• Good working relationships have been established with prison authorities and local schools, with a strong commitment and support for the work taking place in prisons and schools
• 375 parents participated in workshops that were held over the past year aimed at breaking down barriers between young people and their parents and educating parents on the issues their children face
• Youth clubs have been established and strengthened in six disadvantaged areas of the Western Cape and the number of young people regularly attending the clubs has grown from just 56 in April 2008 to 373 to date
• A learning event was held in Durban in January 2009, bringing together South African YMCAs involved in implementing youth justice projects, enabling them to share experiences and start planning joint initiatives focused on supporting young people in conflict with the law. As a result youth justice has now become a signature programme for the South African National Council of YMCAs.