H360 signs new Cooperation Agreement with Maranhão authorities to expand actions in the state

H360 signs new Cooperation Agreement with Maranhão authorities to expand actions in the state

On April 27th, a Technical Cooperation Agreement was signed to guarantee three more years of operation for the social cooperative created by the Humanitas360 Institute in São Luís, Maranhão. Held at the headquarters of the State Court of Justice, the ceremony celebrated the continuity of the work started in 2020 at the Women’s Prison Unit of the Pedrinhas Complex, where the workshop will be able to house new members. In addition, the new term provides for the creation of a second cooperative in the capital of Maranhão, this time outside prison, aiming to serve women who have left the prison system. On the occasion, H360 was represented by its president, Patrícia Villela Marino, and by director Higor Cauê.

With the renewal, an interdisciplinary committee will be created, formed by representatives of the signatory institutions. Besides the Maranhão State Court of Justice (and its Unit of Monitoring, Accompaniment, Improvement and Inspection of the Prison System), the other state bodies that are part of the alliance are the Government of Maranhão (represented by the Penitentiary Administration Secretariat), the Public Prosecution Service, the Public Defender’s Office, and the State Penitentiary Council.

“Signing this cooperation today, for me and for the institute, represents another milestone of civic and social friendship of the justice system of the state of Maranhão with the work of Humanitas360, which once again is recognized and embraced,” says Patrícia Villela Marino. “Together we were pioneers with the Cuxá Social Cooperative and now we have the possibility to move forward, guaranteeing greater access to women who are deprived of liberty and to women who have left the prison system.”

For Judge Paulo Velten, president of the Maranhão State Court of Justice, it is essential that the court supports initiatives like these, “which bring human dignity to the reality of the criminal justice system and resignify society’s role in the commitment to the resocialization of individuals who are deprived of their freedom.”

Check out some moments of the ceremony: