Community Knowledge Centre - Toronto Community Foundation

About this organization

Mission

The Mission Statement of the John Howard Society of Toronto is: Making the communities safer by supporting the rehabilitation and re-integration of those who have been in conflict with the law.

The John Howard Society of Toronto has been providing support to individuals and communities through the delivery of credible and professional counselling services and programs in order to reduce crime and enhance community safety since 1948. It is our mandate to develop and deliver programs that are innovative and rooted in evidence-based research and best practice literature. We work to promote effective, just, and humane responses to crime and its causes

As a non-profit organization committed to providing education, programs and services that reduce the social, economic and personal costs of crime, the Society is dedicated to helping people who have been in conflict with the law and adults at imminent risk of coming into conflict with the law. The John Howard Society has affiliates in each province across Canada. Further, our organization has a positive relationship with all three levels of government, related departments and Ministries as well as with local and national media for whom we have held various press events to share some of our research findings.

History of Organization

John Howard was an 18th century Englishman who dedicated his life to prison reform throughout Europe. He recognized that in his time, the treatment of those in custody was inhumane and that changes were required within the system. His famous report, “On the State of Prisons in England and Wales”, in 1777 led to legislative changes throughout the system and slowly moved public opinion to favour more humane prison conditions. Our reputation and commitment to crime prevention continues to be rooted in John Howard’s legacy, values and philosophy.

In Ontario, Brigadier General Draper, Toronto’s Chief of Police, founded the John Howard Society in 1929. Draper recognized the futility of much of the work being done by front line police officers. They worked tireless to solve crimes and apprehend offenders, when all the time, prisoners who were being released from jail simply returned to circumstances of unemployment, isolation and poverty which served to increase their chances of re-offending. With our rich history in mind, we proudly continue to encourage people to make positive life changes through the provision of effective programs and professional support services.

Accolades and Accomplishments

Over the past five years, the John Howard Society of Toronto has been engaged in locally focused research initiatives with a view to disseminating results which influence systemic changes that will affect positive changes in the lives of our clients. In 2006, the Society completed a study addressing the connection between homelessness and incarceration and its impact on people and services within the City of Toronto. Findings showed that many homeless men in Toronto have recently been released from a correctional facility. This has led to partnerships with both the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (Toronto Drug Treatment Court) and the Fred Victor Centre which have resulted in the provision of 18 units of transitional housing for some of our most vulnerable service users. TDTC participants living in our housing and have increased their success rate in their treatment programs significantly. Further, clients participating in focus groups that we have conducted have assured us that our programs are making a difference in their lives. Our ongoing support has allowed for them to both set and achieve meaningful goals which they believe would have been unattainable without the services of the John Howard Society.

Programs

>Post Incarceration Housing Program
>Institutional Counselling Programs
>Pardon Assistance Program

The John Howard Society staff are professionals, specially trained to address the counselling needs of our high risk client group in order attempt to enhance each service user’s quality of life while also enhancing community safety. Each client is assessed and the level of intervention based on their individual need is determined. Annually, our programs and services are delivered to approximately 10,000 individuals in a variety of community based locations. Our main office is centrally located in the City’s downtown core while our services are provided at this location as well as throughout Toronto at 19 different locations. We strive to be as accessible as possible and in the neighbourhoods where we are needed the most.

The programs and services that we provide are:

• Healing circles for Aboriginal men in local detention centres in our communities;

• Pre-release planning at all detention centres in Toronto and within federal institutions throughout Ontario for those planning to resettle in Toronto;

• Substance abuse and relapse prevention counselling;

• Anger management (individual, group and professional training services);

• Community justice (adult court diversion) programs;

• Family violence counselling;

• Housing counselling, referral and support;

• Pre-employment programming

• Neighbourhood engagement initiatives at Jane and Falstaff;

• Transportation service for individuals to visit family and friends who are in custody throughout Ontario.

In partnership with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Toronto Drug Treatment Court we have opened two residential facilities (8 units) for men in this program who require housing and additional supports. We have also partnered with the Fred Victor Centre and can now provide 10 additional units of transitional housing.

We focus on helping individuals to challenge their belief systems and to make positive changes. The men we work with have multiple and complex issues stemming from histories of family abuse, social isolation, mental health and addictions, brain injuries and FASD and as a result of living in deep poverty. They are also frequently shunned by the community as a result of having a criminal record.

Post Incarceration Housing Program

Our Housing Team assists homeless and under-housed clients to find and maintain housing, offering ongoing support to landlords and tenants through the provision of eviction prevention work and mediation. Our staff are well versed in the Ontario Human Rights Code and in relevant Tenant Protection legislation. Our housing contacts for clients are in both the private and social housing sectors, while additional referrals are made on an individual basis for specialized, supportive or transitional housing options.

Our efforts in Scarborough continue in partnership with the Scarborough Housing Help Centre and the Metro East Detention Centre. A JHS-T worker meets with clients prior to their release from jail and works them upon their release at the SHH. We also work with to assess their needs of individuals being released from institutions across Ontario from both the Federal and Provincial Correctional systems. We strive to assist people to obtain housing immediately upon release to the community in order to circumvent the cycle from street to jail and back again, and in order to mitigate the social and monetary costs associated with the possibilities of re-offending

Funding and Program Partners

This program receives funding through the City of Toronto and United Way.

Program Impact

It significantly changes and enhances the lives of the men accessing this service. These are individuals whose only options for housing are shelters and the streets. Many have chronic health issues and require safe, affordable and well maintained housing. The feedback we receive from clients and funders have encouraged us in this work and we are making every effort to expand this service. Many of these men have never had their own place to live. As a result of low self-esteem and criminal records many are turned away from landlords without advocacy and support. We know that when a person is safe and housed, the chance of them re-offending is reduced.

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

• “In May of 2011, he number of eligible households on the active waiting list for social housing stood at 66, 460 (up 10.4% from May 2010 and 34.3% increase since 2008” (Toronto’s Vital Signs®, 2011).

 John Howard Society Toronto’s Post Incarceration Housing Program supports long-term and sustainable transitional housing. In order for the community we live in to be safe and crime rates to continue to drop, mechanisms to serve those most vulnerable members of our community must be accessible.

Participant Vignette

Andrew is a 37 year old Aboriginal male who has been a client of John Howard Society of Toronto off and on since late 2007. He had previously been incarcerated and had been in conflict with the law for a number of years. He had also been homeless for a number of those years after losing his housing due to incarceration.

Andrew also shared with his JHS T counselor that he struggled with an addiction to alcohol and other substances as well as with some mental health issues which he said he found hard to “keep a handle on” when he was moving back and forth from the shelter system to jail. Andrew also said that he frequently experienced loneliness, depression, and sometimes felt “stuck or trapped”. He didn’t blame society for his life’s circumstances but rather believed that he was caught in a cycle; from addiction to homelessness and incarceration. He wanted and needed change;

Early in 2011, Andrew returned to JHS T to seek help once again and began meeting with a housing worker. With assistance from his counsellor, Andrew applied for the “Short Term Rent Support Program” (STRSP) offered through Housing Connections. He was successfully housed in an affordable bachelor apartment. Beneficially, as a client within our ‘Post-Incarceration Housing Support Program, he was able to secure follow-up support through the City of Toronto and also to obtain furnishings for his new rental until via the Furniture Bank. Today, Andrew maintains regular contact with his follow-up worker and also his counsellor at JHS-T. He recently reported that he has been sober for the past three months.

Institutional Counselling Programs

Institutional services are provided at the Toronto Jail, the Metro East Detention Centre and the Metro West Detention Centre. Every week at these locations we provide counselling services in the areas of addiction/substance abuse, Aboriginal healing, housing support, and personal counselling. We are also the only service provider in Toronto offering on-going pre-release planning to adult men in custody.

Staff meet with clients to determine the type of supports required both during and following their incarceration. Many of the Aboriginal clients we see in these facilitates are learning about their culture for the first time in their lives. As a result of the residential school legacy, many were removed from their home environments and never had the opportunity to learn about their own history. These services are provided in both individual and group counselling sessions. Last year we provided service to over 2,000 individuals in these settings. There is a significant lack of treatment programs and support to individuals during custody. There are approximately 600 individuals in each of these facilities everyday that are in need of a variety of services. Our programs are well respected by the staff at these institutions and we liaise with them regularly. Many of the individuals that we serve in these settings have been involved in gang activity. Working with men during their incarceration provides our staff with the opportunity to discuss the reasons that they became involved with gangs in the first place, and to explore possible interventions that might reduce the risk of re-engaging with these activities upon release

Funding and Program Partners

This program receives funding from the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Servies, the United Way of Greater Toronto and the City of Toronto.

Program Impact

It significantly impacts communities by enhancing neighbourhood safety. It is imperative that individuals being released from jails to the community have the contacts and resources that they need to engage in positive and meaningful activities. Many of these men experience a deep sense of isolation and stigma as a result of family breakdown, histories of abuse, mental health, addiction issues and oppression. Our staff has the professionalism and skills required to engage with this marginalized client group in a way that encourages them to explore options and increase their sense of self worth. They are also encouraged to take responsibility for their actions that have caused harm to others and to identify the issues that led them. Finally, they are assisted to determine what interventions are required for them to be able to move on. Overall, the program impact is that our service users will leave correctional facilities with knowledge of the resources that are available to help them to make positive choices.

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

• Total criminal code offenses (excluding traffic offenses) in the city of Toronto dropped for the fourth straight year to a rate of 5, 864 per 100, 000 population in 2010. The rate was 8.9% lower than in 2006 (Toronto’s Vital Signs®, 2011)

Participant Vignette

Our Native Inmate Liaison counsellors work with Aboriginal Clients in custody. One individual, Steve, attended our ‘Spirit Circle’ for approximately two years until he was released. He was particularly active participant and was well liked by other inmates while he was incarcerated. He acknowledge that attending these Circles was an experience that helped him to think about many of the choices he had made in his life. The Circle and the teachings assisted him in reflecting and focusing on changes he needed to make.

Part of his discharge plan included helping Steve to connect with culturally appropriate community resources as well as supports to coordinate times to visit his children. He was eventually released and followed through with his plan to acquire housing through our Post Incarceration Housing Support Program. It is truly inspiring to see a former inmate follow through with the plans he set in motion prior to his release. Since Steve’s release, he has, on occasion, come by the office to say “hello” and to have a 'smudge' with our native staff. He lets us know how he is adjusting to living a life and free from his old friends and destructive addiction driven behaviours. He also tells us of the challenges he is facing as well as the rewards he has received, living a new life with his family. He attributes these changes to our JHS-T program and to his readiness to make changes.

Pardon Assistance Program

This program assists individuals who have been in conflict with the law and who are no longer engaged in criminal activity to truly make a “new beginning”. A member of our staff team conducts a thorough assessment in order to gauge Pardon eligibility. Once eligibility is determined, our counselor works one on one with every individual to demystify and explain the Pardons process. Our staff completes and collects all necessary documentation including police record checks, court information (cpics), to finger prints. Further, applicants are assisted throughout the application process, one step at a time in order to ensure that all information is completed correctly and that unnecessary delays and additional fees are avoided. Should participants require additional support during this process, they are referred to internal or external services and programs as deemed appropriate.

Funding and Program Partners

The Pardon Assistance Program is funded by the City of Toronto.

Program Impact

The Pardon Assistance Program has been highly successful since its inception and its need continues to grow as a result of the ever changing hiring practices under Ontario employment law. Also, new upcoming federal policies will mean that we are likely to see an even greater need for such services, as numbers of people looking for work continues to rise. Our success is built on active community engagement and word of mouth referrals. Our primary objective concerning the pardon program is aiding those with criminal records to become productive, employed members of society. Access to gainful employment has a stabilizing effect on an individual’s rehabilitation process and as a result, can both mitigate recidivism and help to boost the economy. Currently, we have approximately 200 active files in various stages of completion. About 6 individuals complete their finger prints each week.

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

“ Unemployment rates for youth and immigrants remain high and employers are losing out on what they have to offer the city: In 2010, the youth (15-24) unemployment rate in the Toronto Region was 18.1% (22.3% above the national average), unchanged from 2009 and 7.6% higher than the 2000 rate” (Toronto’s Vital Signs®, 2011).

Participant Vignette

Jack came to our office to meet with our Pardons worker with an extensive criminal record. He was very open and honest while telling his story, never laying blame on anyone or anything and taking full responsibility for his actions. As he revealed some personal information about his early teenage experiences, it didn’t take long to conclude his environment played a decisive role in his conflicts with the law. He was on “the run” from the police, living for many years in the U.S where he was eventually incarcerated several times. He shared a harrowing story of his experience in a deportation jail in El Paso Texas - where he spent three months waiting for extradition. He described it as “hell on earth”. Jack has stayed out of trouble for the past 12 years, claiming that the John Howard Society of Toronto “offered him a blue print”; directions for leading a life he never knew existed.