b'Therelationshipwithhis invaluable and has helped the project to be so successful.partnerwasshortlived And so, while still serving his sentence, Stephen workedand Stephen won custody withFatherHoeyandPaulMackaytoformCareAfterof his child. An allegation Prison.Later,in2013afterserving14yearsofhis wasmadebythechilds sentence,Stephenwasgrantedararefullreleaseonmotherthatanunnamed account of his transformative time served, his restorativememberofherfamilyapproach towards his actions and the forgiveness from hiswasabusingtheirchild. victims family. He now serves as Director of Services forThisledtoadisputethe organization which is headquartered at the CarmeliteandresultedinStephen Community Centre in Dublin.assaulting a man who then He is keeping the promise he made to his victimsdied.Aftertwodaysfamily. I wanted to give something back, says Stephen.of deliberation, a jury sen- To do something positive and productive with my life intencedStephentolifein responsetothenegativethathadhappened.Youcant prison. rectify what youve done wrong, but you can use the bad asWhileimprisoned, an experience to motivate you.Stephensoughtthesup- Support from The Ireland Funds has made a significantport of the prison chaplain difference to the organization. We applied to The Irelandand wrote a letter of apol- Funds for funding and were ecstatic when we got theogy to the victims family. The letter I wrote to the family news that we got a grant, explains Stephen. It was awas straightforward, says Stephen. I explained why the momentofeuphoriasimplythattheworkwasbeingcrime had happened and my understanding of what I had acknowledged. That funding was sustainability for us. Itcommitted and what my intentions had been.I explained was room to move forward and develop the ideas we had.that I was very, very sorry.The Ireland Funds provided that platform for us to beStephen was not sure they would even reply. Actually, idealistic and to want more. I expected that they would reply with Go to hell. But theyToday,CareforPrisonworkswithex-offenders,theirrelayed back to me that they forgave me. In fact, they saidfamilies, and victims. They engage and advocate on issuesthat they had decided to forgive me at the trial and theyrangingfromhousingtoeducationopportunities.Thebelieved me when I said I had not intended to kill theirpeer-led aspect is a key to the programs success. We areson. Stephen received this news through his priest andseeing people who are willing and want to change theirwasawe-struck.ThefamilynotonlyofferedStephen lives. We dont condone bad behavior, but we understandforgiveness,buttheyaskedStephentodothreethings: where they are coming from and what their backgroundsTore-educatehimselfwhileinprison,tomakesomething are, so we talk straight and we can motivate, explainspositive come from the experience and lastly, to forgive himself.Stephen.Wetalkhonestlyaboutaddiction,aboutHe enrolled in school the very next day and continuedimproving their appearance to interview for a job, aboutwitheducationinprisonthroughouthissentence.Hehow to get counselling and how to make an honest living.began to work with other prisoners on issues they struggledAnd for victims, we explain the court system and what theywith. Other people in prison started asking me to helpcan expect in terms of sentencing in language they under-them to write letters, or show them how to advocate forthemselves in a way that was effective, explains Stephen. stand. It currently costs up to 65,000 a year to incarcer-ate a prisoner in Ireland. Care After Prison hopes to notI also started to observe the people who came back toonly stem the flow of re-offenders, but to prevent youngprison. I would ask them, Why are you back here? andpeople from committing crimes in the first place. Theythey would say, I got out but I couldnt get anything done.conductfreeworkshopsinschoolsfor5th So I began robbing again. Or they would tell me, I had noand6thyearstudentsthatcreateawarenessaroundone to help me and I slipped back in the drugs. behavioural choices and the harsh realities of prison. Itplantedtheseedsforhistheorythatapeer-ledOver 700 people have been assisted by Care Afterorganization addressing the issues of ex-offenders couldPrison to-date, the majority being ex-offenders. Only 6perhapsmakeadifferenceinkeepingthemfrom havere-offended,afiguretheorganizationseesasa re-offending. It was during Stephenss imprisonment thatsuccessful sign. Our job is to be ready all the time for thathe met with Father Charlie Hoey and Paul Mackay who wasmoment when someone is ready to change, says Stephen.a member of the Parole Committee. They shared his visionWe accept that our work may not be seen as priority workof a service that would address the needs of ex-offenders,to many people. But we argue that if we do our job, we aretheir families, and victims. I worked as a prison chaplainhopefully lessening the toll of crime. in Mountjoy Prison from 2003 to 2009, says Father Hoey.I met with Stephen almost on a daily basis during my timein Mountjoy and he stood out in the prison service as amodel prisoner. I asked if he could be given day release toworkintheCarmeliteCommunityCentre(WhitefriarStreet)andthiswasgranted.Stephensexperienceisconnect2014 | 21'