The Desistor Network is about bringing together ex-offenders ex-offenders in the community to lend peer support to those who are on their reintegration journey.
The official launch of the Desistors Network at Singapore Expo, Max Atria on Saturday, 15th April 2023.
The DN is a new initiative to support ex-offenders’ desistance and aid in their successful reintegration into the community after their release. The focus on longer-term desistance is important, as statistics show that four in ten offenders return to prison within five years of release. This is double the number of those who return to prison within two years of release.
To achieve longer-term desistance, SPS recognises that it is important to create an ecosystem of support for ex-offenders. The DN was established to create a strong network where member agencies, working with and supporting desistors (i.e., those who have successfully remained offence-free in the community for a longer period), tap on one another’s strengths, experiences, and resources to expand the range of support activities available to ex-offenders. This will allow more ex-offenders and desistors to journey with one another, within a circle of support from the network.
Through the DN, there will be more avenues for desistors to provide prosocial support to other ex-offenders. The DN also aims to foster more training opportunities among member agencies, more synergies, and more collaborations and partnerships, where member agencies co-create or enhance initiatives for ex-offenders.
