Greek Re-entry: Myth or reality An evaluation of the Greek rehabilitation and re-entry system: The Case of EPANODOS

Abstract

This study was conducted per the requirements of a thesis in the masters program of Comparative Social Policy and Welfare of the department of Social Sciences of the University of Tampere, Finland. The paper deals with the evaluation of rehabilitation and re-entry programs as perceived by the professionals of social sciences in the only official organization on rehabilitation and re-entry in Greece, EPANODOS. Specifically, it analyses the penal system of Greece and the legislative framework which governs it. The study also examines Greece's penal institutions and the detention conditions inside them. Other topics examined are the communication possibilities of the prisoner with their family and social environment, the opportunities for employment and work inside and outside the institution, along with the educational and vocational programs provided by social services. Most studies investigating imprisonment and re-entry in Greece are focused on imprisoned people and any examination of re-entry is based on prisoners' and former prisoners' perspective, rather than that of the professionals who are offering those programs. That is why I decided to conduct a qualitative research and interview five professionals (n=5) from EPANODOS. My data were categorized and analyzed using thematic analysis. The evaluation of the re-entry programs from the experiences and the critical point of view of those professionals answered my research question, which is: How feasible is rehabilitation and re-entry in Greece? From their answers I investigated how this newly formed organization functions, what it offers and how many people work there, what are the difficulties it faces in providing the services to former prisoners, if they are getting any help from the state and what kind of help and if any results from previous studies were taken into consideration; also the state of rehabilitation, if there have been any significant changes and how the existing rehabilitation programs are evaluated. Finally, I examined whether any good practices are being planned, or already in place. My findings showed that, even though re-entry has not been among the state's priorities, it is still feasible in Greece, but needs time to develop. It has been noted that things take time to mature in Greece, mostly due to the changes in the country's sociopolitical system, leaving sometimes Greece behind in comparison to other European countries regarding not only re-entry and rehabilitation policies, but social solidarity and social aid policies in general; problems that are becoming even more prominent in an era of financial crisis. However, given the relevant changes in policy and service implementation, it is expected that positive results will appear in due time.

Keywords: re-entry, rehabilitation, penal institutions, former prisoners