Safely located within the walls of Oslo Prison, lies this building, which previously housed the prison hospital. Nowadays it is the
home of ‘The Pathfinders’ with accommodation for 20 inmates.

Responsible, reliable, sympathetic, honest and serious. We have to admit, these are not words used all too often to describe inmates of Oslo Prison! But when five inmates from ’The Pathfinders’ programme (Norwegian: ’Stifinnern’) prepare themselves to leave prison, these are some of the accolades justifiably bestowed upon them to encourage them on their journey ahead.
’The Pathfinders’ has existed for 15 years. Now more people than ever choose to make use of this unique activity.

’The Pathfinders is a department of Oslo Prison. It receives inmates from the whole of Norway who wish to master problems they have been experiencing, with either drugs, alcohol or other intoxicants. The five inmates that were made a fuss of today have completed two important phases stretching in total over eight months. Now they are ready for phase 3, treatment organized by the Norwegian ’Tyrili Foundation’. True to tradition, this was marked by speeches and of course the famous Norwegian Cream Cake! The words of praise, uttered by fellow inmates in the final discussion group, have been preserved in individually mounted glass frames for each participant to take with them.

Time to take responsibility
-I didn’t really believe in treatment programs for drug addicts and alcoholics when I came here eight months ago, said James, but I had a strong desire to exist free from all drugs and alcohol. –I want to be a good father for my little daughter who is three years old now, he continued.

James is serving a three year’s sentence for various theft offences - and all to finance a steadily increasing dependence on cocaine. This is his 8th conviction and since he was 18 years old James has spent a total of 7 years in prison. Now he is 30 and feels it is high time he took a bit of responsibility here in this life.

Shorter stay
-’The Pathfinders’ has existed for more than 15 years and now we want to offer this unique activity to even more participants, comments Leif Otnæs, Prison Inspector. –We don’t have any opportunity for expansion, so the only way to increase our capacity is to reduce participants’ period of stay here. –We will now increase the pool from approx. 30 to 50 Pathfinders per year, he continued. And Leif Otnæs promises to do so without any noticeable deterioration in the quality of Pathfinder training. –From now on we will leave more of the social dynamics related tasks to the Tyrili Foundation. Since we ourselves are housed within the prison walls, the Tyrili Foundation is far better equipped to prepare Pathfinders for a life of freedom, he added.

Improved self-confidence
-I would say the most significant change is that I have now acquired a much better degree of self-confidence, replied James to the question of what had changed most during his eight month period at The Pathfinders. –I am no longer afraid to show people who I am, he continued. In the ‘world’ he was a part of outside prison, being kind and easy to get along with was regarded more of a weakness. Now I am more confident of a brighter future than ever before, and a heavy load has been lifted off my shoulders.

On Monday, James and the rest of his group will move on to further treatment under the auspices of the Tyrili Foundation. Next week a new group of hopeful inmates arrives at the home of The Pathfinders.

James has soon stared out between the bars for the last
time, on Monday he’s off to Tyrili.

Leif Otnæs has been leader of The Pathfinders for almost
10 years and is still just as enthusiastic.

Read more about The Pathfinder
Read more about The Tyrili Foundation (Norwegian)