The Elizabeth Fry Society of Northern Alberta started out as Elizabeth Fry Society of Edmonton with a group of volunteers with an office in the old Provincial Courthouse in 1977. This team of volunteers dedicated themselves to serving their community and were able to secure funding for the agency by the following year. The Clifford E. Lee Foundation was the first to provide financial support to the E Fry family. With that support, we were able to become a member agency of the United Way.

The first program offered by the Elizabeth Fry Society of Edmonton was the Courtwork Program, followed by a Formal Prison Visitation Program. The original volunteers went into their work with open hearts and open minds and this experience showed them first-hand the deep flaws in the system. They heard the stories of the women that they worked with, and they saw a common and recurrent trauma and injustice in the lives and experiences of these women. They began to understand that until women worked through these problems, reintegration into the community would be difficult. The original program was renamed Prison Liaison Program, and has since been expanded to include pre-release planning, one-on-one support, group work, and the Bridging New Journeys Program.

In 1981, a new program, the Kids In Court Program, was introduced to students in the public school system, and offered support to children and teens in the court room.

The Community Resources program was created in 1984 with the knowledge that most of women’s interactions with the criminal justice system come from a complicated history that most often includes poverty, abuse, racism, and discrimination. The goal was to break the vicious cycles that women are caught in before falling into the criminal justice system.

The Daily Living Skills Program was introduced in 1987 as an alternative to prison sentences for women who would benefit from the programs and supervision in the community. In 2000 this program was funded by the National Literacy Secretariat, and incorporated the National Literacy Project and the Daily Living Skills Program; it was then renamed Changing Paths – A Literary and Life Skills program. The women who participated were encouraged to explore their experiences, situations, and circumstances through writing, in order to heal and discover a healthier, more empowered path for themselves.

In 1990, the Courtwork Program expanded to include a Youth Court Program, which provided similar services for those under the age of 18. With the help of the Alberta Solicitor General’s Youth Initiative in 2001 and 2002, the Youth Court Program grew to include two new programs: Court Assistants for Female Youth (CAFFY) and Youth Stoplifting. These programs have continued on with the continued support of from Wild Rose Foundation, the Clifford E. Lee Foundation, The Estate of Robert Tegler, and a private funder through the United Way of Alberta Capital Region.

The Indigenous Women’s Program began as a simple collection of cultural awareness workshops in 1991. These early offerings were for staff, clients, and other agencies. This program was started with the assistance of an Indigenous steering committee, and has grown and changed over the many years of its existence.

In 1997, the program had grown to include a full-time staff member in order to provide Talking Circles, Healing Rituals, Craft Circles, Sweats, Ceremonies, and other retreats. We have been blessed throughout our journey to have the support of many Elders, and we wish to express our gratitude. We continue to be committed to offering culturally informed programming to our clients, and to involve Indigenous community members on our Board, our staff, and our volunteer programs.

On November 24, 1995, Elizabeth Fry Society of Edmonton moved from the McLeod Building to its longest-standing location, 10523 - 100 Avenue.

In 2001, The Changing Paths program partnered with the City of Edmonton's Donate-a-Ride program. This partnership allowed us to distribute bus tickets to women who access agency programs and services, with the goal of breaking down some of the barriers of poverty, and provide access to public transportation and enable them to attend Elizabeth Fry Society programs.

2001 also saw the creation of another new program, with the support of the Kristie Charitable Foundation and the Edmonton Community Foundation. The Record Suspension began to support women who meet eligibility criteria to complete and submit a Record Suspension Application to the Parole Board of Canada.

A criminal record can negatively affect a person’s ability to attend school, to get a job, to obtain safe housing, to volunteer, or to travel internationally. When a Record Suspension has been granted, a person is able to show a clear criminal record when asked, and as a result, they are granted many opportunities that might not have otherwise been open to them.

With continued funding, we are able to assist women with practical and financial aspects of obtaining a Record Suspension. To date, over 250 record suspensions have been granted with the support of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Edmonton.

Established in 2002 with funding from Alberta Human Resources and Employment, the Work 4 Women Program works to address the barriers related to poverty and unemployment faced by women. These conditions often make a person vulnerable to conditions that create contact with the legal system, and the Work 4 Women Program has been instrumental in supporting women who are in contact/at risk of contact with the criminal justice system in obtaining long- and short-term employment.

The Girls Empowered and Strong Program was born in 2006 with the support of the United Way Alberta Capital Region Funding. This is a program that empowers girls aged 13-17 with the skills and tools to make the healthy choices that will lead to a healthy adulthood. The program has welcomed two other funders since its inception, Provincial FASD Service Network Program and the Wild Rose Foundation. This program continues to change and grow in its capacity to support the entrance of healthy young women into the world.

The Courtwork Program saw another expansion in 2007, when it grew to include Courthouses from the rural surround areas: Stony Plain, Morinville, and St. Albert. In 2008, that service expanded to Sherwood Park and Fort Saskatchewan. In 2013, we further expanded our service to Wetaskiwin, Camrose, and Ponoka, and in 2014, to Red Deer. In 2020, we started offering our court program in Fort McMurray. We have also added a Satellite Court Assistance Program for enhanced court support and mentorship in all our rural court areas. Each of these expansions were funded by Alberta Law Foundation.

In 2018, The Elizabeth Fry Society moved to the 9th floor of the 105 street building, and grew to include the Independent Legal Advice for Survivors of Sexual Violence Program (ILA) in 2018, and the Women’s Empowerment Project (WEP) in 2019.

We expand and grow our programs and services to meet the ever-changing needs of our community. Thank you for being a part of our journey.

At the Annual General Meeting in June 2020, our membership approved our motion to change our name to The Elizabeth Fry Society of Northern Alberta. This name change and rebranding will better reflect the scope of our work expanding even more throughout Northern Alberta. We welcome collaboration and partnership in communities from Red Deer all the way north of Fort McMurray - including rural and Indigenous communities in Northern Alberta to address the unique access to justice needs and gaps in service that are affecting vulnerable folks.

Hiy hiy!