By Solomon Gumah
Tamale, Sept 11, GNA – Total Life Enhancement Centre-Ghana (TOLEC-GH), a psychology-focused organisation advocating mental health and providing psychological services, has launched a six-month project to provide mental health and psychosocial support services for prison inmates and officers in the country.
The Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Prisons (MH-PSP) project is being implemented in seven Prisons across the Northern and Middle Belts of the country including Tamale, Navrongo, Sunyani, Wa, Yendi, Damongo and Gambaga Prisons, with a focus on capacity building of inmates and officers, (Peer Counselors) as well as providing them with psychosocial support.
The project, which will benefit 500 inmates and 80 officers, would prioritise the incorporation of art therapy, underscoring the importance of the Nelson Mandela Rules, which served as the benchmark for Prisons reforms worldwide, and promoting a more humane and just approach to incarceration.
The project would also be training 40 inmates and 40 officers as peer counselors.
It is being supported by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime and funded by United States Department – Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement in collaboration with the Ghana Prisons Service.
Mr Peter Mintir Amadu, Executive Director of TOLEC-GH, speaking during the launch in Tamale, said it was to address the pressing need for improved mental health care and psychosocial support for inmates in the country.
He said the mental health conditions and psychosocial needs of the Ghanaian Prisons required more partnerships between government and NGOs.
He called for the support of all to ensure success of the project to transform lives, build resilience, and aid in humane reintegration processes.
Deputy Director of Prisons (DDP) Mr Thompson Otsyokpo, Northern Regional Commander of Prisons, said the project would restore dignity and resilience and create a pathway and greater future for the inmates and officers, who were often marginalised and forgotten by society.
He commended TOLEC-GH and partners for complementing the efforts of the Ghana Prisons Service in making the prisons not just a place for confinement but an avenue of learning, growth and transformation.
Mr Issah Mahmudu, Northern Regional Director, Legal Aid Commission, urged policymakers to ensure that persons charged with criminal offences were granted bail to reduce the number of inmates in the Prisons.
GNA