STAND Up For Jamaica has received aa $12-million boost from the Sandals Foundation to expand its support for survivors of gender-based violence in Kingston and Portland, while continuing its educational and psychosocial rehabilitation across selected correctional facilities.

Under its 2026 programme, Stand Up For Jamaica will train 40 women in Kingston and 40 in Portland, while also reaching more than 100 community members through sensitisation sessions aimed at strengthening gender-based violence awareness and prevention.

The inclusion of Portland marks an important step in expanding structured support services for survivors in rural communities where access has historically been limited.

“This year we have expanded our programme to support survivors of gender-based violence,” said Maria Carla Gullotta, executive director of Stand Up For Jamaica in a media release.

“We will engage women between the ages of 18 and 40 — many of whom are survivors of violence or residents of volatile communities identified through partnerships with community leaders, restorative justice offices and local health authorities.

“Participants will receive HEART/NSTA Trust-certified cosmetology training, along with counselling, legal guidance and entrepreneurship coaching designed to help them build sustainable livelihoods and reduce the economic dependence that often keeps women trapped in abusive environments,” added Gullotta.

She said the programme’s evolution reflects a growing understanding that true rehabilitation requires more than education.

“Over the years we have seen that when individuals are given education, psychological support and now livelihood skills, they begin to see possibilities for their lives that once seemed impossible. This programme is about restoring confidence, creating opportunity and helping people rebuild their futures with dignity,” declared Gullotta.

According to Gullotta, the 2026 programme builds on important groundwork laid in the previous phase of the partnership with the Sandals Foundation, which strengthened rehabilitation efforts within correctional institutions by introducing psychological and behavioural change interventions alongside education programmes.

“Through the support of the Sandals Foundation, in 2025 mental health clinicians, including counselling psychologists and psychotherapists were integrated into the correctional facilities’ initiative to help participants process trauma, regulate emotions, and develop the resilience needed to fully engage in academic and vocational training,” Gullotta said.

For Dr Veronica Salter, counselling psychologist and psychotherapist, the programme is already delivering measurable results.

“These women inmates have faced a lot in society and have never had help to deal with it. They often feel inadequate as women and as mothers. But with the right support, we are able to help them regulate their emotions, express themselves and begin to rebuild their lives in meaningful ways,” said Slater.

In 2025, more than 300 incarcerated individuals engaged in rehabilitation programmes, accessing education, counselling, vocational training and entrepreneurship development opportunities.

The initiative supported 150 individuals through structured rehabilitation programmes, facilitated 103 participants preparing for CSEC examinations, and enabled 11 inmates to graduate from the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean, five with bachelor’s degrees and six with associate degrees. All 11 completed their programmes with honours.

One former participant, now a programme graduate, reflected on the life-changing opportunity the programme created.

“Being a part of the CSEC and associate degree programme facilitated by Stand Up For Jamaica and funded by the Sandals Foundation helped me value education in a new way. I am pleased to know there are still people who believe in the power of transformation and that not everyone wants to write us off and label us as criminals because we broke the law. Sometimes losing something — in this case my freedom — was the best way to unveil my potential, and I am eternally grateful for this opportunity,” said the inmate.

For the Sandals Foundation, the continued partnership with Stand Up for Jamaica reflects a long-standing commitment to investing in people and strengthening Caribbean communities through education, and providing second chances.

“Gender-based violence and incarceration are not isolated challenges; they affect families and communities across our region. By investing in education, psychosocial support, and skills training, we are helping individuals reclaim their agency and create pathways toward stability and opportunity,” said Heidi Clarke, executive director of the Sandals Foundation, in the media release.

She noted that since 2019, the Sandals Foundation has supported Stand Up For Jamaica through investments in educational resources, teacher salaries, certification programmes, and mental health services within correctional facilities.

“The programme’s continued expansion signals confidence in a holistic approach that combines education, healing and economic empowerment to create genuine second chances,” added Clarke.

Inside the computer lab at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre where inmates gain digital skills and confidence through the rehabilitation programme operated by Stand Up For Jamaica, supported by the Sandals Foundation. 

CLARKE…by investing in education, psychosocial support, and skills training, we are helping individuals reclaim their agency and create pathways toward stability and opportunity (Joseph Wellington)

GULLOTTA…the 2026 programme builds on important groundwork laid in the previous phase of the partnership with the Sandals Foundation, (Joseph Wellington)