EFry Q1 Newsletter
Quick Note from our ED
Let me take a moment to wish everyone a belated Happy New Year from all of us at EFry Northern Alberta! We have a lot happening this year, and we are so grateful for your support and investment in our work. On Giving Tuesday, we received some meaningful and precious donations, especially for our Housing Supports Program, and as we conduct more intakes of participants into our program, we say THANK YOU to our incredible donors!
We have some news coming up that we will be sharing on our social media, and though I’m not going to share it here just yet, I can tell you things are MOVING right along. (Hint, Hint.)
Quick prison visiting update: COVI19 continues to affect our team and our work (like so many of you, I’m sure.) I wanted to let you know that we’ve made some headway with returning to some prisons, always prioritizing the safety of our clients and our staff. We hope to get back to regular, steady visits that our clients can plan around. With that being said, we have yet to return to Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre at all since the pandemic. Though we do not have a contract to provide in-reach into this prison, there are dozens of women and gender-diverse folks there who we are very eager to see and support once again. We are doing our best over the phone, but it is not the same. If you have people you care about in any of our prisons, please encourage them to call us as we are still accepting calls on our toll-free number (1.866.421.1175.)
As always, I’m happy to connect: director@efrynorthernalberta.com
Be Well,
Toni
Criminalization of Mental Health
Did you know that between 15-40% of people in prisons have a history of or diagnosis of mental illness? And this number is likely higher than the official statistic as many people don’t get a diagnosis. Many of the individuals who end up in prison are there because of challenges with and/or lack of supports in managing their mental health. Canadian prisons do not offer appropriate psychological support or services that their prisoners need. It’s no surprise then, that the rate of suicide in federal institutions is six times higher in prisons than it is in our general community.
We’re calling out to the courts system, police enforcement, and prison systems – federal and provincial, and all other institutions that criminalize people with mental illness, to educate yourselves and your staff on trauma, mental health, and addictions. Is your role interrupting criminalization of mental health, or is it contributing to it?
What people with mental illness need are community supports, affordable housing, timely treatment and trauma counselling, access to education and job opportunities, among many other important needs that, if addressed, the rate of criminalization would decrease significantly. At EFry, we have several programs that support our clients who are working toward healthier, happier, and more fulfilling lives in the community.
Indigenous Outreach and Reintegration Support Program
Newsletter submission for Q1 2022We are very happy to announce that we have a new staff member, Corenda-Lee, who is the coordinator of our Indigenous Reintegration Support program. Corenda-Lee is eager to support women, gender diverse and non-binary folks with Indigenous cultural supports, advocacy, and programming. Some of the things she is working towards, when conditions allow, are medicine picking in the river valley, sweats, Indigenous crafts such as beading, and a ribbon skirt making workshop. These are just some examples. Through the program activities, Corenda-Lee encourages Indigenous women to reconnect with their culture and to develop a sense of themselves as Indigenous peoples. Further, she assists Indigenous women to break the cycle of violence and abuse for themselves and their children, provides crime prevention programming and supports to help Indigenous women to live as valued members of our community, and supports women’s reintegration and rehabilitation. We are looking forward to seeing the continued positive impact Corenda-Lee will have on the women and communities we serve.
Success Story for Q1 2022
To celebrate the onboarding of our new Indigenous Women’s coordinator and acknowledge the strength of our incredible clients, we wanted to highlight a success story from Corenda-Lee.
“…another client that I have building a professional relationship with has kept her word to come to the office and check in with me. The first time she showed up, she looked exhausted from sleeping rough since being released from ERC back in September. I let her grab some clothes, gave her some food, and conversed with her. I found out she has grandchildren and wants to get her life on track; however, she is always surrounded by people who have ill intentions. She came back and the third time she was SOBER!! She looked so good. Her hair was done, skin glowing and she was drinking pop. I told her that when she returns to me sober, I will give her some smudge. I was able to gift her some sage and she was so grateful! She is such a sweet woman with so much potential."
The Elizabeth Fry Society of Northern Alberta advances the dignity and worth of women, girls, two-spirit and non-binary individuals who are criminalized and those who are considered at risk.
Contact: Toni Sinclair, Executive Director
780.784.2201
director@efrynorthernalberta.com