Friday, April 05, 2013
Few days ago, i received an e-mail asking me to go for an interview with Prison Legal Education & Assistance ( PLEA). Unfortunately, the interview time crashed with my work shift, hence i need to reschedule the time!
Today, I finally got a confirmation and a new time slot for my interview !!! YEAH!!!
Even though this is just a unpaid voluntary job, it is closely related to my dream job! ( prison, sentencing, law etc). OMG really hope i can get it!!
PLEA Projects is run entirely by volunteers and is based in Monash- Oakleigh Legal Service (MOLS). Their legal workshops cover topics including:
court readiness;
Family Law;
Parole readiness;
Dealing with Police;
Sentencing; and
Working with lawyers
The reasons why PLEA is set up is to assist inmates to proactively handle their legal cases, providing inmates with the knowledge and skills needed for them to gain control in an environment where they may feel powerless. They recognise the structural, psychological and cultural barriers that can prevent access to and participation in the justice system. They seek to overcome these barriers by empowerment through practical legal education.
The position that i am applying for required me to go to one of the 4 prisons, giving advice to the inmates.
For example:
1) Metropolitan Remand Centre:
if i go to this prison, i will be giving presentation to the inmates, focusing on preparing man on remand for the court process they are about to go through. We will be talking about important topics such as working with lawyers, bail, trial process and sentencing.
2) Dame Phyllis Frost Centre
This is a female prison in Melbourne. the presentation here are cater to help the female inmates. Dealing with the most common " female" problems ( prisoners or not, most of them are still mothers,wife, daughters etc). The presentation given to them will focus mainly on Family Law area.
3) Port Phillip Prison
PLEA focuses on preparing inmates for parole in this prisons.
PLEA will be explaining the general concepts of parole, deal with the challenges faced by inmates as they approach their parole hearing. The program has a focus on simplicity and supports prison administration in explaining what transition resources are available to them. PLEA believe that by informing prisoners about parole and the factors that are taken into consideration by the Adult parole Board, PLEA enables and encourages each prisoners to take the directed and responsible actions that can improve their eligibility for early release.
4) Parkville Youth Justice Centre
This is a Youth Justice Centre for young men and woman ( age 10-13 and 15-18 ). The presentation target audience will be people who are both on remand and serving custodial sentence. We will be covering issues affecting young people in custody, including dealing with police, the court system, working with lawyers, sentencing and family law. The session run as interactive workshops and we aim to break down some of the complexities of the criminal justice system, as well as providing tangible steps that young people can take to be proactive in driving their cases.
I sincerely hope that i can get this! It sound both fun, challenging and this opportunity is going to be a huge stepping stone for me, allowing me to reach my goals. The only flip side is that these prisons are really far away!! the nearest one takes about 2hour ish to get there by car and the longest one will be 3-4 hours (without traffic). As this is a volunteering position, imagine the patrol fees i need to pay!! ( and i hate driving!!!!! )) BUT i believe its all worth it in the end :D
Wish me luck for my interview next sat!!
THE GIRL
RANTED @
Friday, April 05, 2013