About PACE
PACE is the largest voluntary organisation in Ireland working exclusively with offenders and ex-offenders. As such we can offer a unique perspective on the needs of people leaving prison. PACE was founded in 1969 and works in partnership with various agencies, such as the Probation Service, FAS, and the VEC, to invest in the highest quality resettlement services for offenders.
PACE believes that individuals leaving prison should have a plan to meet their training, education, employment and housing needs. By delivering relevant high quality services we can promote inclusiveness and help reduce further offending. PACE aims to do this by increasing an individual's chances of securing employment and acquiring and sustaining stable accommodation. PACE currently consists of the following projects:
- PACE Priorswood House is PACE's oldest project and is a residential house that provides temporary accommodation for homeless men who have recently been released from prison. PACE offers a comprehensive residential support programme for up to 22 men at a time. The house offers a two-tiered approach to the accommodation and support needs of the men using the project.
- PACE 'Training for Employment' project in Santry is an education and training project dealing with up to 24 individuals at any one time. As a supervised project the PACE 'Training for Employment' project offers a wide range of education and training options to the trainees. The project has also developed a wide range of support programmes that focus on areas such as coping with life after prison and are aimed at trying to ease the transition between prison and release.
- PACE Horiticulture project.
- PACE long-term accommodation project.
- PACE family support service.
The ultimate aim of the PACE projects is to provide an opportunity for people to turn their lives around and to break the cycle of offending and re-offending. The focus of PACE projects is on developing the individuals' capacity to lead a stable, crime-free life by tackling health and mental health problems, helping them to deal with drug/alcohol problems, offering supported accommodation and providing education and training that is geared towards the labour market. By providing much needed support for ex-prisoners and ex-offenders at a high-risk time, PACE makes a vital contribution to the safety of the wider community.
In addition PACE has shown itself to be responsive to the needs of ex-prisoners by continually developing and expanding our services in a flexible and proactive way. We have seen a substantial increase in the demands for our services and this has been represented by the growing waiting lists for our projects. The challenge for an organization like PACE is to ensure that we continue to develop and offer the range of services and supports that people leaving prison need in order to not re-offend.