Volunteer with Us
Volunteers work with the inmates and ex-offenders in the areas of religious programmes and services, social programmes, academic and enrichment programmes. Volunteers are also one of the sources of pro-social support for ex-offenders in the community.
The Roles of a Volunteers in an Offender’s Rehabilitation Journey
As a volunteer, you play an integral role in the inmate’s rehabilitation and desistance journey. When you engage inmates, ex-offenders and their families, you give hope and help rebuild lives.
As a volunteer, you:
- Share knowledge and impart skills to help inmates increase their reintegration potential.
- Provide the emotional support that encourages inmates to stay focused and committed to their rehabilitation while serving sentence.
- Assist to stabilise and strengthen families left vulnerable when a loved one is incarcerated.
- Form part of the pro-social network in the community, to reinforce the ex-offenders’ resolve to desist and support the reunification of families after release.
The path to recovery and desistance can be challenging and is rarely straightforward. The Singapore Prison Service welcomes you to join us on our journey towards a society without re-offending.
Areas where you can Contribute as a Volunteer
The programmes and services facilitated by volunteers complement the rehabilitative initiatives provided by SPS to better prepare offenders for eventual return to the society. Volunteering can be in various forms, within and beyond the prison walls.
You can volunteer to:
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Pro-social support is among the key factors that prevent re-offending. You can volunteer to be an SPS Befriender and be a friend to inmates who want to restart their lives among positive peers. As a Befriender, you will support inmates who may be at any phase of their incarceration through letter-writing, phonecalls and visitations. The befriending journey continues into the aftercare as your befriendee prepares to re-enter society with your support.
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Academic education is one of the rehabilitation programmes available to inmates. Together with full-time teachers from Ministry of Education and independent adjunct teachers, you support the inmates’ aspirations towards academic qualifications.
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Volunteers facilitating religious programmes and services provide spiritual guidance and emotional support to inmates.
When volunteers facilitate family programmes or services, you help inmates and their families gain useful knowledge and skills to become more effective members of the family. With your support they will gain stability and strength to move forward as a family, beyond their release. Children also benefit both directly and indirectly when families are supported by volunteers.
Volunteers possess a wealth of experience and competencies. You can volunteer to impart skills and share knowledge, such as IT literacy and financial planning, with the inmates and their families. -
YRCP is a grassroots-led initiative that provides community support and assistance to families impacted by incarceration through grassroots organisations. As a YRCP volunteer, you will engage and befriend these families and where necessary, link them up with helping agencies in the community.
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As a VCO, you will support community corrections work in the areas of case management and provision of prosocial support for supervisees who are emplaced on community supervision programmes to help steer, coach, and guide them to live a prosocial life. You will also help expand the supervisees’ network of support in the community.
For more information on the VCO scheme, please check out the VCO FAQ PDF link.
Click here to join the Singapore Prison Service as a volunteer.