SilVR Adventures, in collaboration with Langi Kal Kal prison in Victoria, is looking to expand a pioneering pilot program aimed at transforming the lives of inmates and facilitating their reintegration into society.
This initiative, sparked by a senior management member’s recognition of Virtual Reality’s potential in alleviating postpartum stress, addresses the significant health and mental health challenges prevalent in prison populations.
With approximately 43,000 individuals incarcerated in Australia as of mid-2018, the program stands as a beacon of hope for those re-entering society, allowing them an improved chance of becoming productive members of the community.
The SilVR Adventures VR solution provides immersive experiences tailored to enhance inmates’ mental well-being, offering a meaningful escape from the complexities of incarceration.
Led by Kirsty De Ruiter from The Department of Justice and Community Safety Victoria, the program focuses on equipping individuals with essential life skills for their post-prison journey, including employment, housing, and healthcare access, to reduce recidivism rates.
“After using SilVR, our reintegration team believed there was an opportunity to utilise VR for long term programs. We came up with several ideas that SilVR have implemented. These VR experiences have the potential to be very helpful for prisoners that have served long sentences, to give them an idea of what to expect when released”
Kirsty De Ruiter
Through this innovative approach, SilVR Adventures and Langi Kal Kal aim to smooth inmates’ transition into society, fostering newfound confidence and skills essential for successful reintegration. The VR experience is delivered across modules that aim to provide practical guidance on navigating various aspects of daily life – essential for those who may be stepping back into society after many years.
A 2018 into the Health of Australia’s Prisoners underlines the importance of such initiatives, revealing that a significant portion of individuals entering prison have prior incarceration experiences and 40 per cent of jail entrants had a mental health condition.
- Most people (73%) entering prison had been in prison before, and almost half (45%) of
prison entrants had been in prison within the previous 12 months. - Male prison entrants were more likely to have extensive prison histories than female entrants. More than one-third (35%) of male entrants had been in prison 5 or more times, compared with 15% of female entrants.
- Indigenous prison entrants were more likely than non-Indigenous entrants to have an extensive prison history. Almost half (43%) of Indigenous entrants had been in prison at least 5 times before, compared with 25% of non-Indigenous entrants.
SilVR Adventures’ broader mission extends beyond prison walls, aiming to combat social isolation across various vulnerable populations, including aged care residents and hospital patients, by providing shared virtual reality experiences. Learn more about SilVR Adventures in this Q&A with its founder Colin Pudsey.
Collaborating with numerous care providers and institutions globally, SilVR Adventures is at the forefront of using VR to enhance social connections and improve the quality of life for everyone in society, regardless of where they may be.
