Mental health needs within justice settings are increasingly recognised as a major public health concern. Research shows that people who come into contact with prisons, probation services, and other justice-related systems experience significantly higher rates of mental health conditions, self-harm, substance misuse, trauma, and suicide compared to the general population (Slade & Borschmann, 2025).
Yet despite growing awareness, prevention efforts are often reactive rather than proactive. Many individuals encounter support only after reaching crisis point, while gaps between healthcare, social services, and justice institutions can leave vulnerable people without consistent pathways to care. PREVENT aims to help change this reality by supporting more integrated and prevention-oriented approaches.
The project is grounded in the understanding that mental health and wellbeing are shaped by a combination of individual, social, institutional, and structural factors. Experiences such as poverty, discrimination, violence, social exclusion, unstable housing, or limited access to services can significantly increase vulnerability and reduce opportunities for recovery and reintegration (WHO, 2014).
PREVENT will contribute to identifying promising practices, supporting cross-sector dialogue, and encouraging the development of approaches that place dignity, inclusion, and human rights at the centre of prevention efforts. By promoting collaboration between policymakers, practitioners, researchers, civil society organisations, and communities, the project seeks to strengthen systems that can better support people at risk.
Beyond institutional change, PREVENT also aims to contribute to broader societal conversations around stigma, wellbeing, and social inclusion. Prevention is not only about reducing harm. It is also about creating environments where people can access support earlier, maintain meaningful social connections, and build pathways toward healthier and more stable futures.
References
Slade, K., & Borschmann, R. (2025). Suicide prevention following conviction within the criminal justice system: A review of good practice using a social-ecological framework. BMC Global and Public Health, 3, 79. https://doi.org/10.1186/s44263-025-00199-x
World Health Organization. (2014). Preventing suicide: A global imperative. WHO.