Prisoners give back this festive season

Christmas is coming and everyone’s getting in the spirit – including prisoners and Corrections staff.

From Upper Hutt to Ka¯ piti, Correction facilities staff and prisoners have been busy baking, growing vegetables and donating presents to the wider Wellington region.

Arohata and Rimutaka Prisons rehabilitation and learning principal adviser Mel Canton says prisoners have been putting up their hands to help out with Christmas projects.

At Rimutaka, fresh vegetables from the prison’s garden were sent to Lower Hutt’s Common Unity Project Aotearoa. From there, volunteers cooked healthy meals that were sent out to the Women’s Refuge.

Inmates also partnered up with baking charity Good Bitches Baking to make festive treats for local charities such as the Wellington Night Shelter, Te Omanga Hospice and Ronald McDonald House.

‘‘I think overall, it’s about working together and changing lives for the better.’’ Canton says. ‘‘We know we can’t do this on our own, we need the help from the community.’’

During the past 12 months, staff and prisoners from correctional facilities around the Wellington region have been making a push to reach out and work more with the community, through charitable organisations and councils, something Canton says has been paying off immensely.

‘‘Behind bars, we can support,’’ she says, ‘‘We do have services to offer. If we can help, we will.’’

In Tawa’s Arohata Prison, women serving sentences worked with the Royal New Zealand Ballet to perform an Inside Out concert in early December.

As well as giving the women the chance to show their talents and get a confidence boost, the concert was used as a fundraiser for Zonta Mana.

The concert’s proceeds will go towards two Porirua Women’s Refuge houses, He Huarahi Tamariki, a school for teen parents, and cooking charity WELLfed.

Prison director Viv Wheelan says the concert was a wonderful event.

‘‘[It] captured the spirit of collaboration and generosity of those who gave up their time to work with the women and those who attended.’’

For the festive season, staff at Ka¯ piti Community Corrections have been busy donating presents to the Birthright Ka¯ piti charity, providing gifts for older children, such as board games and Frisbees.

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