CSSI YRP reach St. Alban’s Anglican Church

Staff Sergeant Jeff Rave leading the Yellow Ribbon Project presentation

Yellow Ribbon Project (YRP) from the Correctional Service Solomon Islands (CSSI) has targeted to reach out Churches in Honiara.

This is very much in support of the program to engage ex-offenders and young people to involve a lot in Spiritual activities, rather than committing crime, re-offending and serving time in the correctional centre.

Church leaders have been called in supporting YRP to inject a vibrant message, down to the young people in the rural areas, and to team up together to be captains in the lives of offenders committed to our custody.

Speaking at the YRP presentation, Staff Sergeant Jeff Rave mentioned that believing forgiveness and reconciliation are key to receiving ex-offenders out of custodial and back into our society. Hence, we befriend, assist, challenge and help to change offending behaviour. By posing support and helping ex-offenders address issues, YRP believes that lives can be fully changed.

Staff Sergeant Rave said the main causes of youths committing crime are unemployment, rural-urban drift, peer pressure, poverty and many more. Ex-offenders also face difficulties especially with the stigmatization of who they are and their former status as offenders.

Through SIG support, CSSI addressed this by introducing YRP, a concept that allows inmates and ex-offenders to be rehabilitated and thereby increases chances of them being successfully reintegrated into the community.

YRP is in a progress of setting ex-offenders and inmates rehabilitated and work with communities to set them free from the second prison.

-CSSI Press