The project started in 1996 under the inspiration of Fr. John Houston with a team of 3 volunteers. Fr. Houston, who visited Pollsmoor prison while being a parish priest at Langa, felt that he could not meaningfully serve the huge number of inmates all alone and organized a prison ministry team. This team eventually became the prison ministry outreach team for the Archdiocese of Cape Town and took the name Prison Caring Network affiliating itself under the Catholic Welfare and Development. In September 2000 the project became a Non-Profit Organization and assumed the name PRISON CARE AND SUPPORT NETWORK (PCSN). PCSN seeks to respond to the spiritual and emotional needs of offenders and their families by providing care and support during incarceration as well as after release. PCSN supports all offenders and their families regardless of religion, race, gender or social status