The work done for the past 16 years by Wayne Chance and the Vision on Mission was applauded on Wednesday night by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.
Speaking at the award ceremony for the non-profit organisation and swearing-in of the new Vision on Mission board, Rowley said such initiatives are worth supporting.
Rowley said the $11.6m given to the organisation between 2001 to 2016 was well spent and accounted for.
"Vision on Mission is a crime-fighting tool that has been used to curb recidivism and keep children on the straight path," Rowley said as he repeated a call he made in 2010 when he got into office for more citizens to volunteer their services.
Rowley told the audience at the Central Bank Auditorium that the current justice system was focused on retribution and rehabilitation. President Anthony Carmona and Justice Malcolm Holdip received the Restorative Justice Awards at the event.
Chance in his address said the new aim of the entity is to go further and faster. He said part of that initiative will be materialised with the completion of the women's facility.
Other examples given throughout the night was the completion of low-cost housing in Laventille for former inmates and deportees as well as the partial completion of another low-cost housing facility in south Trinidad and greater usage of the farm in Wallerfield.
The new board for Vision on Mission include former National Operations Centre (NOC) Garvin Heerah as the executive director, former prison commissioner John Rougier as a trustee and Snr Supt Joanne Archie as public information officer. An 11-member team chaired by Chance was also appointed as the board for Partners of America, Trinidad and Tobago chapter.
After receiving her award for the category of Keep Pressing On, Stacey Beckles, a former inmate who began her own Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) to assist women in prison, thanked Chance and the Vision on Mission team for the work they have done.
The Vision on Mission team was also congratulated for turning former inmates into business owners who now contribute positively to society.