Rehabilitation Program for Prisoners

House of Grace opened its doors as the first rehabilitation facility for prisoners in Israel. It successfully developed a recognized holistic program to meet the needs of prisoners while addressing larger social issues. The program aims to assist prisoners who are ready to rebuild their lives. House of Grace supports prisoners in reshaping their future and creating a healthy relationship with the Israeli and Arab communities. The need for proper rehabilitation has increased together with a general increase in the number of prisoners in Israel in the last decade. In Israel, as in many correctional systems, offenders belonging to ethnic minorities, especially Arabs, are imprisoned in disproportionately high numbers. Access to rehabilitation facilities is limited.

All faiths are welcome

House of Grace is a rehabilitation facility for all prisoners, regardless of their religious or ethnic background. Christian, Muslim, and Druze prisoners live under the same roof. It is the only rehabilitation facility for newly Arab prisoners in Israel.

 

Recently, due to political instability, governmental funding has been reduced, and the rehabilitation center is threatened with being excluded from the list of government-funded institutions because of its politically neutral stance. Half of all expenses of House of Grace have to be funded through donations.

 

Out of the 10,650 incarcerated men housed in 22 prisons around the country, Arabs account for up to 46% of these prisoners. However, the percentage of Arabs in Israeli society is only 20% (statistics from the Agency for Rehabilitation Israel).

The program is
successful

Since 1982, the House of Grace has provided a place in the rehabilitation center for over 1,000 prisoners. They were supported to facilitate their reintegration into society. The program is successful, and its impact is reflected in the low recidivism rate of less than 40% among those prisoners who have undergone our program (1 year after their completion and release from the House of Grace).

By working with prisoners, House of Grace aspires to encourage personal responsibility, enable individual transformation, and catalyze broader social change through empowerment projects that begin at the individual and communal level.

Project updates

All He Needs is Love

As a child, Abbad grew up with a very abusive father. His mother, the only supportive and dominant figure in his life, died of cancer when he was only 16.

Read More »

Mohammed and Omar

Haunted by drug addiction from a very young age, and facing the prospect of a life in institutions without seeing his young son grow up, Mohammed decided to change his

Read More »

In order to create a rehabilitation program and ensure rehabilitees’ successful empowerment and reintegration into society, we follow a person-centered and holistic approach, specifically seeking to provide support in five main areas:

  • The nurturing of supportive relationships for clients with family, fellow former prisoners, House of Grace staff, staff of the social services, etc. The inclusion of family members and social service workers is important to the client’s rehabilitation.
  • Fostering relationships between former released prisoners and current clients of House of Grace to encourage and empower those newly released.
  • A comprehensive assessment of the client’s needs, especially the need for psychological help or addiction treatment, support in accessing those services, and prevention of relapse.
  • Advocacy, Public Awareness-raising, education, and information on the social problems and challenges prisoners face in their efforts of rehabilitation and reintegration, to foster broader social change.
  • Follow-ups with clients and the continuation of support when clients face unexpected and difficult challenges after their stay at House of Grace.