Transitional housing organizations must adapt to meet growing demand, reduced CSC budget

on Residential Optionsfor Women

Volume 1 Number 2 Published by CAROW

Winter Spring 2012

Canada’s current federal prisons for women were opened between 1995 and 2004. Designed to house women serving sentences of two years or more, they were expected to support the female prison population for 50 years. With the unexpected exponential rise in women’s incarceration rates over the past few years, these prisons have all been expanded to the extent possible. Yet recent legislative changes led to 20 per cent more federally sentenced women in 2011 than in 2010, a trend will likely continue in 2012.

To further complicate the situation, the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) budget will be cut as of April 1 this year. The operation of the prisons makes up 80 per cent of this budget, ameliorative in-prison programs accounts for 15 per cent and just five per cent is available for community-based supports like parole offices and officers, halfway houses and other types of parolee housing and community programs.

Research suggests the two most effective interventions in reducing women’s recidivism are housing and employment. With growing demand and deep budget cuts,

providing this support will become more critical and complex than ever before.

Today, community organizations providing transitional housing tend to operate only their halfway house or similar initiative and are funded by CSC. Some have other funders and create additional programs to provide organizational sustainability. They are mostly small, with few Canadian operators in Canada having total organizational budgets over $2 million.

The coming challenge these operators face – more women coming out of prison who have had fewer programs to help address their needs, together with the shrinking budget of the sole source of funding for women prisoners – means women’s organizations need to change the way they work. The solution lies in their creation of social innovation and enterprise, engaging community investment, and demonstrating the positive social and community impacts of the work they do. CAROW is actively working to connect with these organizations and help build capacity and stability for the future.

Research suggests the two most effective interventions in reducing women’s recidivism are housing and employment.

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CAROW co-hosts session to facilitate mental health support

In 2011, CAROW and the SLSC (St. Leonard’s Society of Canada) and the CAROW(Canadian Association of Residential Options for Women) formed a partnership to advance mental health resources for Canadians leaving prison. As part of this initiative, our two organizations are hosting a day-long forum, Better Together: Improving Working Relationships Across the Criminal Justice and Mental Health Sectors, in

Brampton, Ontario on February 24.

Eighty representatives from local service organizations, provincial ministries and Corrections Service Canada are expecting to participate in this collaborative session which will explore the benefits of providing ongoing mental health support to former inmates and identify opportunities for the criminal justice and mental health sectors to work together.

The session will feature a panel of expert speakers including Marg Welch, assistant deputy minister, Ministry Community Safety and Correctional Services, Maria Brideau, Local Health Integrated Network regional chair, Jennifer Gravelle, Correctional Services Canada, Chris Higgins, Ministry of Health and Shelley White, CEO, United Way of Peel Region.

The unique needs of women must be considered in formulating effective transitional housing and support for women leaving prison. The necessity of a gender-informed approach is central not only to the work of CAROW but the Correctional Service of Canada and its Community Strategy for Women Offenders. The strategy notes the changing profile of imprisoned women, and the need to provide for the small numbers of women across the country while supporting a continuum of care model. The challenge for CAROW’s membership is to remain informed about gender responsive approaches and best practices in order to assist women to achieve the best outcomes possible.

Best practices are often referenced generally, but there are few tools for service providers to examine their own gender responsive practice and consider opportunities for improvement. There is a body of knowledge, though, can be drawn upon to provide a cohesive and consistent approach for working in the community with women. A Self-Evaluation of Adherence to Best Practice for Women’s Transitional Housing has been developed by the Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver that draws upon five key research documents related to mental health, addictions, housing options for women upon release, and gender responsive program analysis.

The criteria used for the tool development are those things identified to provide the best outcomes for women related to engaging clients, maintaining their residency through to discharge and aftercare, integration with community support services and program design and evaluation.

A copy of the tool is available in english and french at www.elizabethfry.com/publications.

Best Practice Self-Evaluation Tool Available

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Design considerations: light and colour matter

While it has been recognized that women benefit from a different model of corrections, there has been little focus on how to create residential housing models that best meet women’s needs. In this first article in an ongoing design series, we explore how light and colour impact female transition house residents.

Federally incarcerated women often have had prolonged exposure to drugs like methamphetamine and heroin, which interfere with the body’s ability to differentiate intensities of light and create blurred vision. These women require bright, evenly distributed lighting to see, read or orient themselves in space, as well as task lights for eating and performing daily tasks.

In spaces with low light, these women can have difficulty reading visual facial clues because many features on a human face are low contrast. Poor lighting can also affect how women do things such as put on makeup as they may not realize the intensity of cosmetics and thus wear more than intended - something that can influence the way other people treat them.

Where possible, installing lights the women can adjust will both enable them to function better and also to feel they have more control over their space, which research suggests lowers stress and reduces interpersonal conflict.

Colour also plays an important role in creating a positive environment. Softer colors and colors of similar intensities are hard to tell apart, so rooms painted with pastels appear dull and sometimes gray, which can impact women’s feelings about the place they are in. High contrast, long wavelength colours such as reds, yellows and oranges are more visible than short wavelength colours like violet, indigo and blue.

Choosing reds or dark neutrals against light backgrounds and yellow or white against dark backgrounds can help people with low vision differentiate colour and are a better choice than greens, blues, purples or pastels. Using contrasting colours can also aid women in distinguishing objects in the rooms. For example, painting doors a contrasting colour and avoiding glass ones that women could walk into. Flooring should also contrast sharply with the walls for optimal safety.

A free staff training curriculum is available to all CAROW organizations which also serve the homeless. Developed by EFry as part of the BC Housing-funded 2009 report, Bridging the Gap: Shelter Case Management in B.C., the curriculum provides a practical tool for shelter operators seeking to standardize and optimize their case management process.

The case management tool was developed based on the input of shelter operators in both urban and rural settings. It provides staff with detailed information on the steps necessary to effectively and respectfully support each client while also fostering a safe, secure shelter environment.

Electronic copies are available for download at www.elizabethfry.com/publications. Hard copies can be obtained by calling (604) 520-1166 or by writing to info@elizabethfry.com.

Training curriculum supports improved client outcomes

Visit CAROW OnlineFind us on the web at www.carow.ca

Mailing Address1ST Floor, 402 E. Columbia StreetNew Westminster, BC V3L 3X1

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Last fall, the Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver (EFry) launched its first social enterprise, Asphalt Gals, which provides roofers and builders with a unique asphalt shingle recycling service. Led by an experienced contractor, Asphalt Gals trains and employs difficult to hire and criminalized women, including current and former residents of Columbia Place, EFry’s community residential program for women on parole.

In keeping with research that shows one of the most effective ways of ensuring women don’t return to prison is employment, EFry developed the social enterprise to create jobs that offer a sustainable level of income.

“Operating a social enterprise versus a business that pays taxes has questions every organization needs to grapple with,” says Shawn Bayes, EFry’s executive director. “For EFry it made sense because of the potential for large scale growth. EFry has been supported by what can only be called a blue ribbon advisory team of some of the best business thinkers and entrepreneurs we could ever

hope to draw upon.” Forming a limited business offers EFry the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of significant numbers of women, compared to a program model, and can earn significant revenues as well. EFry is the sole shareholder of the limited company and over time the revenue potential could contribute to supporting EFry’s overall mandate.

“Asphalt Gals is a business in every sense of the word, and indeed every social enterprise should be,” explains Bayes. “They created a unique, cost-effective service offering that meshes with the type of employment that can suits the type of clients CAROW’s members serve. The business is earning revenues already.”

EFry launched the enterprise in a limited capacity, to ensure the operation functions smoothly and has sufficient staff to meet demand, before it is rolled out to a broader audience later this year. Asphalt Gals sorts and recycles used shingles from construction jobs, which can save roofers and contractors money while diverting many tonnes of asphalt from landfills. To date, Asphalt

Gals is the only company offering this service in Canada. Project teams have been fully booked since the enterprise’s launch.

“It’s still early days and we are learning a lot from the process,” Bayes says. “But we believe social enterprises have the potential to become a key part of the funding mix for service organizations like ours.”

Social enterprise creates living wage jobs

”social enterprises have the potential to become a key part of the funding mix for service

organizations”