INTEGRATING EX-PRISONERS IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

'is article draws attention to solutions aimed at supporting convicts a(er they serve their time in prison. 'e basic thesis, argued and con)rmed is the belief that work with former prisoners should be characterized by the integration of activities of many institutions, undertaken on the basis of a society functioning in a speci)c social environment. In theory it can be assumed that the resocialization process carried out in a penitentiary should be e+ective enough for the person leaving this institution to be prepared to live in a free environment and function in accordance with social, moral and legal norms. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. 'e concrete evidence and statistical data indicate a signi)cant number of persons relapsing into crime.


Introduction
It would seem that in the current social reality characterized by the rapid ow of messages, the presence of various information channels, the situation of each person, regardless of their past, cannot be overlooked. Unfortunately, such beliefs are not con rmed by solid data. Both in a group of children and adolescents, as well as adults, the number of people feeling lost, experiencing depressive states, escaping to the margins of social life is increasing. Considering the aforementioned issues that characterize the general public, it can be assumed that in the case of former prisoners living free, among people experiencing various existential problems, is even more challenging. eoretically, it is assumed that the resocialization services in penitentiary centers should successfully prepare a person leaving this institution to live in a free environment and operate in accordance with social, moral and legal norms. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. e concrete evidence and statistical data indicate a signi cant number of persons relapsing into crime. For example, in the years -the ratio of repeat o enders (Ministry of Justice, , p. ) (de ned in Article § and of the Penal Code) in relation to the total number of convicted adults with sentences in force -in increased by . , and in by . (Ministry of Justice, , p. ). From the total number of formerly convicted adults in , committed a crime again in the following years, representing . of all convicts. e largest number of people who relapsed into crime in the period -among the initially convicted, were sentenced to unconditional imprisonment -. and the penalty of conditional sentence -, . Of the people who le prison or custody in , . (i.e., ) committed a crime again within years (Ministry of Justice, , p. ). Equally worrying is the data showing that in about of the cases of persons committing a crime a er leaving the penitentiary institution, they did so immediately in the rst year a er serving their time (Ministry of Justice, , p. ). Certainly, this situation requires a constant re ection, and above all systemic changes that will not only eliminate the opportunities for repeat o ences, but will also support former prisoners a er they serve their time. e research conducted by Fidelus ( ) shows that people who leave prison experience evident problems with adapting to living free. e di culties arise from multiple sources. One of them are the conditions inmates have to exist in a restricted institution. It is typical for convicts to develop appropriate adaptation mechanisms that facilitate life in prison (Go man, ). e prisoners returning to live free use techniques developed in isolation, which o en hinders their positive functioning. Problems a er leaving prison can also result from the lack of e ective actions taken in a prison, appropriate solutions in an open environment, etc. Diagnosing the di culties has been the subject of many scienti c studies. Both scientists and practitioners functioning in the eld of penitentiary assistance have a smaller or greater knowledge in this area. However, there is clearly a need for further analysis to develop more e ective solutions in the area of support services provided to former prisoners. is article focuses on solutions aimed at supporting convicts a er they leave the prison. e basic thesis, argued and con rmed is the belief that working with former prisoners should be characterized by the integration of activities of many institutions, undertaken on the basis of a society functioning in a speci c social environment.

From socialization to social re-adaptation
From the earliest times, problems with the process and conditions of the socialization have aroused the focus and care of societies that are interested in the proper, socialization process of their members according to the principles and norms. e fate of a given community, state, and all humanity depends on every representative of social life. In the case of people who did not succeed in the process of primary socialization -solutions referred to as resocialization, i.e. those related to secondary socialization, are analyzed, designed and implemented. Within the determinants of the process of the social rehabilitation of persons who have been incarcerated, issues most o en referred to as factors of social re-adaptation are considered (Bałandynowicz, , Ambrozik & Kieszkowska, ). ey are most o en analyzed in the context of solutions taken in an open environment, including activities conducive to social adaptation of convicts at large.
Adaptation to social conditions characteristic of a particular environment is a long-term process. is process depends on many factors related to both the person -participant in the process of social adaptation, as well as the environmentthe environment in which this process takes place. Characteristic regularities related to the process of social adaptation can also be applied to the participants of the process of re-adaptation, i.e. to those people that have been involved in the process of primary social adaptation that did not follow the rules, norms or norms speci c to a given society (e.g. stay in isolation) and disturbed the proper course of the process of social adaptation. Strengthening actions should be taken against this group of people, particularly targeting at a speci c person that is socially maladapted, referred to as re-adaptive. e statement in the previous sentence about 'undertaking strengthening actions directed at a speci c person' suggests that the struggles were based solely on external actions. is is obviously a misinterpretation, because the conditions for the success of positive social readaptation should be sought in a much broader spectrum of activities. It should be noted that the essence of external solutions is to reach individual beliefs and feelings of the person participating in the process of social re-adaptation, in order to maximize their stimulation and strengthening, towards undertaking such behaviors that would allow and favor social re-adaptation. e assumption put forward in the previous sentence about the need for reaching the internal sphere of man, as a basis, even a guarantee of a positive course of the process of social adaptation, poses huge challenges both for people adapting to new living conditions, for people working with this group of people, as well as for social environment in which a speci c person adapts to live in speci c social conditions. e greater the task is even more overwhelming the participants of the process of social readaptation are persons with a criminal past and a inprisonment.

A support system for prisoners based on a policy of redistribution and recognition
Determinants of the process of social re-adaptation of convicts can be analyzed through the prism of the integrated policy of "redistribution and discretion".
By recalling Nancy Fraser whose theory proposes a two-dimensional concept of justice, including redistribution and recognition, we should emphasize that the combination of the two lines of action will help convicts return to life in a free environment. Redistribution is an action taken in response to economic injustice, while recognition acts against cultural injustice. e group of people with a criminal past is a bivalent community, subjected to both economic and cultural injustice. First of all, the arguments for the need to take actions in the area of economic injustice will be considered. People with a criminal past are mostly characterized by a lack of education by skills that only allow them to perform activities for which there is no demand in the modern economy. ey are people who were victims of economic injustice as children. Staying in care and education or resocialization institutions is not bene cial to their charge. Lowered educational requirements further strengthen their belief that they are "worse", which increases their low self-esteem. Faulty systemic solutions of the state that do not generally provide equal "capacity to act" (termed by Amartya Sen) will not be analyzed in detail here. e state's strategy, which would limit social injustice, could be political and economic reconstruction. In its area, redistribution of income, transformation of economic structures, the educational system, care, social assistance, etc. should be included. I believe that redistributive actions should be characterized by a transformative approach (reconstruction of the basic generating principles, aimed at repairing the inequality of social relations) as opposed to a rmative remedies (repairing the unequal results of social relations without disturbing the basic principles themselves). In contemporary systemic activities directed at a group of former prisoners, an a rmative approach is being applied. It comes down to post-penitentiary assistance, programs in the area of social welfare, i.e. bene ts, ad hoc assistance, organization of lodging houses, etc. a rmative redistributionunfortunately, deepening the antagonistic relationship with convicts. People who are provided with a rmative help feel stigmatized, get used to the situation of a person in need, experience the consequences of symbolic violence. Transformative countermeasures "reduce social inequality, but without creating stigmatized classes of people at risk of being seen as bene ciaries of a special class", include "[…] universalistic social welfare programs, highly progressive taxes, macroeconomic policies to ensure full employment, a large non-market public sector, signi cant public and/or collective ownership, and democratic decision making on basic socio-economic priorities. ey try to secure employment for everyone, and at the same time break the link between primary consumption and employment" (Fraser, , p. ). However, negative consequences of solutions typical of the welfare state are noticed. It is con rmed by the results of studies that showed a correlation of negative tendencies in the process of social re-adaptation with the attitude of passivity, the withdrawal of those convicts who, a er leaving prison, operated in situations characterized solely by free-lunch type of distribution and by imposing their speci c activities (Fidelus, ). Anthony Giddens noticed that "social dependence is a real deal, not a myth conjured up in the heads of the rightwing politicians -examples can be multiplied" ( , p. ). Returning to the second level of injustice -the cultural level -attention should be paid to speci c representations, interpretations and stereotypical perception of prisoners rooted in the society. People with a criminal past live mostly on the margins of social life (regardless of their current situation and behavior), they are depreciated in the environment, humiliated, neglected, even overlooked in social life. e con rmation of this statement is visible in the results of research in the area of social attitudes towards former prisoners.
A lack of appropriate measures in the eld of economic disparities certainly deepens and strengthens cultural gaps. However, it should be emphasized that actions only in the sphere of economic inequalities, even those of a transformative nature, will not automatically eliminate cultural injustice. ere should be e orts to apply remedies that strengthen the recognition. In the case of a group of convicts, the media have a signi cant role to play. Biased communication certainly does not favor the recognition policy. People most o en learn and watch criminal behavior, stereotypical images of prisoners, showing them as primitive, ruthless, and worse people. e participation of people representing this group is minimized in various types of activities and social events. e research results clearly show the longing of former prisoners for participating in various types of local activities. Discretionary activities help minimize or even eliminate the consequences of economic injustice. A man who is valued and respected in society will get a job faster than a person who is marginalized in social life. e relationships work in both directions, especially in modern times where the value of money dominates. People whose economic position is higher than those who live in poverty are more respected and recognized. Emphasizing the role of solutions of a discretionary nature addressed to former prisoners, one should also emphasize the need for taking into account and use the re ectiveness of convicts themselves. Despite their criminal past, they are people with a speci c potential that should be noticed, discovered and, above all, utilized. Once we know former prisoners better it may turn out that people from outside the criminal environment can also learn a lot from them.
In conclusion, the process of social re-adaptation of convicts should include both redistributive and discretionary measures. Because they complement each other, they improve the situation of this group of people.

Solutions to support convicts in an open environmentpractical recommendations
In recent years, there have been many changes in the scope of the modi cation of legal provisions, conducive to expanding the o er of rehabilitation activities addressed to prisoners, former prisoners and their families. A wider range of options are implemented both by state institutions and by non-governmental organizations. e scope of activities carried out by non-governmental institutions for convicts is signi cant. Undoubtedly, they facilitate the convicts to return to society and bode well for their future as free people. However, next to these positive images, there are some areas that need immediate modi cations. A lack of coordination and coherence of interactions between the government and non-government institutions is an important problem in the area of post-penitentiary solutions. e direct implementers of projects that prepare and strengthen the positive course of the social re-adaptation process are prisons and custodies, probation court service, social assistance organizational units, labor market institutions, churches and a variety of non-governmental organizations that statutorily deal with supporting people at risk of social exclusion. However, there is no harmonization of activities carried out by individual units. Very o en, the same people receive overlapping services from several institutions, while a signi cant group of convicts is le behind. It is noted that the above-mentioned entities operate independently of each other. ey plan and implement actions in the area of post-penitentiary assistance only within the scope of their concepts or legal provisions resulting from acts, ordinances or statutory regulations. I do not obviously intend to question individual projects and intentions of individual entities, but it is reasonable that institutions and organizations operating in the area of their own projects should cooperate with one another. Assigning the activities to support the process of the social re-adaptation of former prisoners to various government departments and non-government organizations without coordination and common policies is not conducive to achieving the set goal, which is streamlining the course of social readaptation of former prisoners.
Another issue that requires re ection is to activate the entire society in solving social problems, including those related to the situation of people with a criminal past. e process of social re-adaptation of persons released from prison cannot be considered solely from the perspective of actions taken in the prison or in the period immediately a er leaving prison, implemented by individual institutions, associations, or families and friends of the released person. e whole of society plays a huge role in the positive course of this process. People should realize the need for learning about and understanding the problems of people socially excluded, unable to adapt to life in society, a ected by various diseases or dysfunctions. e society should keep their eyes open to the problems of the "Other" and stop perceiving them as a kind of threat. is attitude of people means that they are increasingly distancing themselves from the need for responding to similar human dramas. ey believe that the best solution is a constantly evolving social care and resocialization system, while in fact society should get reorganized to recognize all types of social problems and feel responsibility for their resolution (Wnuk-Lipiński, , pp. -).
According to the concept of social reconstruction, it is necessary to "create completely new behavior patterns, new norms of behavior, new institutions that will replace or modify old ones and will be more in line with changed attitudes" ( omas & Znaniecki, , p. ). ere is a need for an urgent change in the stigmatizing and marginalizing attitudes of society in an attempt to replace them with attitudes of tolerance, subsidiarity, support and reliable care. According to Wiesław Ambrozik ( ), former prisoners still struggle with common stigmatizing mechanisms and unfavorable environmental conditions. In order to eliminate them, Ambrozik suggests creating a mediating link between the prison and freedom. Such an institution would be, for example, a hostel that would guarantee care, advice, continuation of education, work and any help in overcoming adaptation barriers. Such a solution would actually integrate resocialization facilities with the environment of the ex-prisoner.
In hostels an assessment could be carried out in the area of re-adaptation conditions (Ambrozik , p. ). Similar solutions are tested in Germany. ere are the so-called transition homes for minors from correctional facilities with less than six months to end their sentences. e juvenile o ender stays in the transition home for about a month, a er which he returns to the correctional facility and awaits the end of the sentence. During the stay in the transition home, the minor prepares to live freely. ey develop their personality and di erent useful skills. e personality sphere is supported by various types of programs, mainly shaping the prosocial skills of the mentees. ey also learn how to search for a place of residence, work, school, produce necessary documents, sign up to a GP, establish cooperation with a social worker. During the stay in the transition home, the minor mediates through the mediators and strengthens relationships with family members and close relatives. is is also the appropriate time to mediate the o ender with the victim and / or his family. During the stay in the transition home, the minor is assessed. When data is gathered, decisions can be made to implement additional and varied corrective and strengthening actions. A er returning to the correctional facility, while waiting to be released, the minor continues the implementation of the tasks started in the transition house.
German solutions applied to minors but would also work with adults. Given the signi cant expenditure of nancial resources associated with the functioning of transition homes, such solutions could rst and foremost be targeted at a group of young people. In addition to indisputable bene ts for those staying in hostels or transition homes, such practices would bring unquestionable gains to strengthen the process of social integration. e functioning of this type of institution would better familiarize local communities with problems in the area of social re-adaptation of people leaving social rehabilitation facilities.
Information obtained during the study visit at the Katholische Hochschule in Mainz in July as part of the Erasmus Program. e basis of actions directed at convicts and their families should be a relational model of social re-adaptation based on self-awareness (Fidelus, ). Each convict is a di erent story, characterized by unprecedented, unique experiences, interactions, and cognitive patterns. erefore, you cannot limit yourself to developing a universal social re-adaptation system. Each person with a prison past requires a unique approach and all types of solutions should be tailored to the individual situations. However, a general outline of the impacts necessary during the process of social re-adaptation of convicts is certainly advisable. e relational model of social re-adaptation based on self-awareness, along with strengthening many familiar and signi cant solutions in the process of social re-adaptation, postulates the introduction of actions that would promote the development of self-awareness of every convict. e environment to which the convict returns is an important element in the process of social re-adaptation. e obtained results con rm favorable situations related to the return to an unknown community, di erent from the original one. is remark concerns mainly those prisoners who come from pathological environments. Returning to "their original social eld" triggers the forms of behavior that in his perception are attributed to the primary habitat. Also images of the social environment towards their and their behavior are irrevocably related to the type of behavior characteristic of the period prior to imprisonment. erefore, the environment expects criminal behavior from them, and the convict himself feels ill in this environment behaving di erently than in the past. Di erent forms of behavior from those characteristic of the original habitus are embarrassing, even funny. e convict realizes that other forms of behavior "do not t" into the environment. ey feel bad, experience a kind of shame in front of people from a given environment, and they are also convinced that the people around them expect their former behavior. is is an extremely stressful situation for a former convict. e emerging tension (cognitive dissonance) is usually discharged by returning to the behavior characteristic of the primary home ground. is situation can be compared to the feelings described by Norbert Elias, who in the context of the functioning of the general public noticed enormous pressure exerted on individuals operating in the social network. He noted that people "feel constantly forced by the social structure to rape their" inner truth.
[…] e pressure exerted on the individual by the social network, the constraints that its structure imposes on it, the tensions and dilemmas it produces in it are so powerful that the individual is growing in a real thicket of incapable of realizing and ful lling inclinations" (Elias, , p. ). Although Elias' comments relate to the general public, they also aptly refer to the group of society that has been le in isolation, i.e. convicts. Most o en these are people with low self-esteem, and thus have no strength to resist the pressure of society.
In the context of the observations, it can be concluded that the situation of people returning to life at large on the unknown territory would be more favorable.
is is not true. e person starting the process of social re-adaptation in the new environment is also exposed to many threats. Strange surroundings, lack of ability to function in a completely unknown environment does not make free life easier. Former prisoners from villages or small towns feel ill a er being in a big city. Similarly, people from large cities cannot nd themselves in a smaller environment. In a new place, they search for elements that even resemble the climate characteristic of their earlier social eld. Most o en, the well-known, close elements are those reminiscent of their lifestyle before being in prison, and therefore associated with a group of people consuming alcohol, drugs or criminal activity. In the new environment, they o en integrate with people who prefer a style of behavior reminiscent of their original habitus. It should be emphasized that the process of re-adaptation of former convicts without the help of supporters, especially in an environment foreign to them, will not be positive. e most optimal solution would be the possibility of starting the process of social re-adaptation in a new environment with the help of supporters. A return to the old environment can also be successful if it is accompanied by the support of a family or other people (probation o cer, assistant, social worker).
A er leaving prison, convicts need a role model in the process of social readaptation. As in the process of primary socialization, clear rules and norms that set a speci c direction and character of human functioning play a signi cant role. ey help in the implementation of speci c roles and life tasks. It is important, therefore, that a person having le the prison had a chance to meet people who could be both a role model and a support in di cult situations. Such a role could be played by a parole o cer, assistant to a former convict, social worker, tutor or other persons from the community of the former convict. A er leaving prison, a former prisoner would need someone to be a role model assisting him/her in various di cult times and situations. Resocialization in an open environment creates real opportunities for a social support. It is very important for everyone, and therefore also for people who manifest social maladjustment, as well as for people returning from social rehabilitation facilities a er serving a prison sentence.
It is important for a person with an isolation past to be convinced of the existence of people who can support them at any time. e belief that this is a signi cant number of both individuals and institutions strengthens the sense of physical and mental security of the individual. is is especially important in the case of the examined group of people returning from institutions of isolation nature. Staying in a con nement weakens the sense of security. at is why it is important for former prisoners in an open environment to have a chance to rebuild their trust in society. Supporting relationships are also important to increase the e ectiveness of the process of social rehabilitation and re-adaptation. Family relationships cannot be overestimated. Unfortunately, for people with a criminal past, contact with their families is o en limited. And their quality, unfortunately, is not associated with emotional or instrumental support. erefore, there is a need to organize situations that allow for the emergence of supportive relationships. is can occur, for example, by participating in support, self-help, school and employee groups. It is important that the mentee has a chance to meet a person with whom he could establish close relationships. An important condition for successful establishment of supportive relationships is the prior preparation of convicts to participate in the group's activities. People leaving prison or having mainly contacts in criminal groups do not really know how to develop proper interpersonal relationships. ey quickly become discouraged by various failures in relationships with others. Accustomed to living today, they are unable to plan, anticipate reactions, understand others or be interested in what their conversation partners think.
Man is a being so mysterious and inscrutable, both for himself and even more so for others that stopping within certain theoretical and practical perspectives in the area of broadly understood social rehabilitation activities is not su cient. It certainly motivates and inspires further challenges. In accomplishing the activities, even the smallest success brings satisfaction and ful llment, which adds strength and allows you to carry out further challenges in the search for solutions that will help other people.