The 2025 graduation of 250 incarcerated individuals under Vision on Mission’s Preparation-for-Release Programme took place on Wednesday.
The programme, which is focused on helping inmates identify and prepare for opportunities for personal growth and re-entry into society, covered topics such as employment, education, life skills development and empowerment.
Speaking at the graduation, Acting Commissioner of Prisons Carlos Corraspe reminded the inmates that this programme plays a vital role in their reintegration process.
“To try to ensure that when you return outside, which you will, ladies and gentlemen, which you will, what sort of person goes back out there, and what is the implication for the national security and safety of the citizens and the communities of Trinidad and Tobago? That is our responsibility, and engaging in the pre-release programme, you are saying to me that you understand that you have been in survival mode and that you are starting to transition.”
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vision on Mission (VoM), Giselle Chance, said the organisation will continue to support the former inmates.
“We have just secured a spot in Arima where chairs are going to be available for participants who are successful in the barbershop programme to rent. So as you receive your training, you don’t have to wait.”
Special Technical Adviser to the Minister of Defence, Ricardo Stevenson, highlighted the profound psychological and emotional impact that incarceration has on individuals.
“We are equally aware that returning to society comes with stigma, alienation and many practical barriers. This is why organisations like Vision on Mission matter. Their pre-release programme, built on counselling, education, training and mentorship, is not merely a support mechanism – it is a lifeline.”
One of the beneficiaries of Vision on Mission’s programme, Lindsey, shared his experience: “The most important thing about this programme and the reintegration into life is patience because if you don’t have patience, you will not achieve nothing, and hard work. And right now the peace of mind I’m getting, I could be able to think more clearly, you know, the drugs are out of my mind, and I’m seeing things more clearly. They helped me with a trade.”
Vision on Mission’s programme is grounded in cognitive moral theory, which aims to change criminal thinking patterns, encourage moral reasoning, and promote self-awareness and accountability.