Get Lauren to LA for the 2016 Global Homeboys Network Gathering

Get Lauren To LA For The 2016 Global Homeboys Network Gathering

Project 2016-06-16 15:31:45 +1200

The Global Homeboys Network annual gathering brings together a variety of non-profit, institutional, and governmental agencies who have implemented, sought technical assistance, and/or expressed interest in learning more about a therapeutic approach to rehabilitiation/reintergration.

Homeboys have been incredibly successful in facilitating programmes that provide hope, training, and support for formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated men and women, allowing them to redirect their lives and become contributing members of their community.

I began working with Peoples Coffee towards the end of 2013 as the Head Trainer for the Arohata Project – a programme offering barista training to inmates of Arohata Womens Prison. The aim of the project has been to provide real, transferable skills outside of the ‘traditional women’s work’ the prison offers. Over the last two years I've been honoured to meet these women and watch them grow and I feel there is so much room for expansion of not only this project but others like it in Aotearoa.

Homeboys is a way for me to learn more about successful reintegration and rehabilitation and how these practices could work here at home. I hope to bring back with me a wealth of knowledge and new skills that will see the Arohata Project grow into a benchmark for social justice progammes all over New Zealand.

About Lauren:

I'm a young woman passionate about social justice and what it can do for marginalised New Zealanders. I think that Aotearoa has the potential to create a leading Justice System with an emphasis on rehabilitation and reintegration. I want to learn more about what it takes to create & implement such a system and share my knowledge with others. 

I would like to see a sustainable, national programme that significantly reduces recidivism rates in New Zealand. One that recognises the value of community and understands that every single person is an equally valuable part of that community.

I have a degree in Criminology and Psychology and this has a been a driving force in my interest and passion for social justice and in particular the need for change and growth in our current criminal justice system.

More information:

• Visit the Homeboys website to learn about all of the fantastic things they do.
• Read the Peoples Coffee blog on my work with Arohata and in the social justice sphere.
• Listen to my recent interview with B-Side Stories about my work with Arohata.
• Read the Dominion Post article about the Arohata Project.

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