We are a non-profit organization that has been an integral part of the community since 1977. The Elizabeth Fry Society of Edmonton seeks to foster the dignity and worth of all women and girls who are or are at risk of becoming criminalized. As well Elizabeth Fry works with other agencies within the community to increase public awareness about the criminal justice system.
I have worked with M. for over two years at Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre and the Edmonton Remand Centre. She was recently convicted of her charge and sentenced to 5 years federally and is now at Edmonton Institution for Women. M. is a bright and enthusiastic young lady who got caught up in a negative life style resulting in her incarceration.
Her charges should not reflect who she is as she is a hard worker with a warm heart. M. worked herself to the bitter end while incarcerated at the ERC. She accomplished her GED while inside and studied every night. It took her two years to complete everything but she did it and on top of that she was the first female at the ERC to receive her GED which was very exciting for her.
She now plans on continuing her education at EIFW and once released back into the community she would like to complete her medical administration or look into being a dental assistant.
Written by Britt, our Provincial Prison Liaison and Work4Women Program Coordinator
B. a fifty year old woman attended the Changing Paths program for 369 hours. She attended regularly, walking 6 blocks from the bus stop in frigid temperatures, sore knees and broken heart. Because of her addictions to gambling, Tylenol, depression her family had disowned her. Over time she took the information shared in the program to heart, and practiced new ways of behaving and responding to family members. She was encouraged to call us anytime and she did. We would work through ‘bumps in the road’ together and she could move on. She learned new coping strategies and a love for life.
Her family ties strengthened and she was welcomed back over time. Today she lives a productive life, volunteering and being a good role model for her daughter. When mothers heal, their children heal also.
Written by Florence, our Changing Paths Program Coordinator
K. a twenty-five year old woman, attended Changing Paths for a total of 284 hours. She attended regularly, punctually and participated as fully as she was able. Some days were better than others as she struggled with an addictions, anger and depression. Because she took the information shared in the program, to heart, and practiced some of the ideas in her life, over time she re-discovered her own strengths and power, learned new ways to communicate, and most importantly, learned to love who she is.
By the time she finished the program, she had mended damaged relationships in her family, and completed a course that allowed to her apply for better jobs. Her family re-located to a smaller city where she was successful in gaining employment in the local hospital, her dream job.
One of her final quotes when faxing her timesheet to her Probation Officer was “Thank you so much for the referral to the Changing Paths program. It’s changed my life.”
Written by Florence, our Changing Paths Program Coordinator
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Hello Everyone!
It is National Elizabeth Fry Week this week!! As part of our celebration we will be sharing a few of our success stories each day.
Here is the first one:
I first met E. in the summer of 2012 when she accessed our intake services as she wanted to make a call. I noticed that she was pregnant so I gently inquired as to whether she had support and resources during her pregnancy. She registered for the Health for Two Program which provides low income mothers with needed resources such as milk coupons, bus tickets and prenatal vitamins. She further disclosed many things one of those being not having her basic needs met. She was staying with an acquaintance that was taking advantage of her and was exploiting her.
I provided her with information and resources as to what options were available to her. She was drawn to an external life skills program within the community. With letters of support in hand by the Elizabeth Fry Society and Native Counseling Services she was accepted into Elizabeth House immediately. From there her strength and courage continued to grow and she really flourished. Through Elizabeth House she was referred to Bent Arrow; a housing first program where she now has her own apartment and has acquired additional supports. She has worked hard and has started to address the many hardships she has endured in her life.
I am delighted to say that she has been sober for over one year, has maintained her same apartment and is in the process of having her children returned to her full-time in September. She has also been attending YellowheadTribalCollege and has been encouraged to transfer to the University of Alberta in September.
I am also very pleased to share that we still keep in contact and she is still moving forward!
“When I came to Edmonton, the only support I had was you and now I have and now I have more good supports….”
Written by Shawna, our Community Resources Coordinator
In the summer, our team participated in Aboriginal Awareness
Training which will soon be an annual opportunity for us to learn about the
impact of generations of discriminatory government legislation, Traditional
Knowledge that reveals important cultural norms and practice, and the richness
and beauty within Aboriginal culture that we can embrace when working with our
women. More than 80% of the women who access our services are Aboriginal;
this training is not only socially responsible, but very important for our team
as a whole so that we can enhance our capacity to make a difference, to dispel
myths, and to walk beside our women on their journeys.
While discussing history, many of us are aware of the
atrocities of the Residential School era, and understand the impact on the loss
of Aboriginal culture. However, this cultural genocide did not end when the
last Residential school closed its doors. It seems to me that there is a
general lack of awareness of the era that began in the 1960s referred to as the
‘60s Scoop’. I was at a conference recently and one of the attendees playfully
asked if it was ‘when Aboriginal people ate so much ice cream (hence the scoop)
that diabetes became a problem…’ No…. nothing to do with ice cream …
I have been asked a few times why is it that history seems
to never go away with respect to Aboriginal communities’ not healing and moving
on from the horrors of the past. This is so complicated but perhaps it can best
be understood by realizing that 'history’ is not so long ago at all. In fact
‘history’ is so very much in the present. This is never more evident than with
the realization of the true impact of ‘the 60s Scoop’.
The term ‘60s Scoop’ was coined by Patrick Johnston who in
1983 wrote Native Children and the Child Welfare System and refers to
the mass removal of Aboriginal children (particularly babies – newborn babies,
even) from their families and communities. These children were placed into
non-aboriginal foster care homes in most cases without the consent of their
parents or Band council. Imagine the newborn babies very literally being
‘scooped’ out of the arms of their mothers.
To put this into perspective, in the 1950s and 60s, our
government began to recognize the horrid nature of the residential school
system and began to ‘intervene’ (many would argue against this point.) However,
at this time, the Indian Act enabled each province the jurisdiction to provide
services to Aboriginal people where none were previously provided federally.
‘Child Welfare’ became one of these jurisdictions. Herein lies the beginning of
the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system (a
trend which continues today), and the eventual 60s Scoop era.
During this time, the predominant thought was that a
non-Aboriginal home would be a better placement for these children. Clearly
this thought pattern was based on ignorance and discrimination. Many Social
Workers viewed the tradition of living off the land as unsafe or unsanitary
conditions for a child. There are documented cases where the Social Workers
would visit the homes, and see raw meat and animal hide and immediately be
concerned about the sanitary conditions of the home. This is just a small
example of the abhorrent misunderstandings and misgivings about Aboriginal culture
that lead to this notion that these beautiful babies would be ‘better off’ in a
Non-Aboriginal home.
As if ‘scooping’ babies and therefore destroying family
structure was not enough damage, the practice of sterilization of Aboriginal
women during this time was equally as atrocious. I lose my appetite even
thinking of this horrible act of genocide. In 1928, our province enacted the
Sexual Sterilization Act which was meant to protect the gene pool and prevent
the passing down of ‘unfavorable’ traits to offspring. Eugenicists believed
that these traits (mental deficiencies, mental illnesses, alcoholism, poverty,
prostitution, sexual perversion, etc) where inherited. As a result, more than
2800 women in our province where sterilized, many of whom were Aboriginal. In
1937, our Provincial government took this Act one step further and decided that
it was too restrictive, and as such, consent was no longer required. In 1942,
following the disgusting lead of the Nazis in Germany, our government forged
ahead, further broadening the category of patients who would undergo
sterilization, and our Alberta Eugenics Board increased the pace of
sterilization in our province. It wasn’t until our late Premier Peter Lougheed
examined this Bill in its entirety that steps were taken to repeal the Act. The
Sexual Sterilization Act remained in effect in Alberta until 1972. (source: http://eugenicsarchive.ca/)
In Edmonton, there is sufficient documentation that connects
a few local hospitals to the 60s Scooping of babies and the act of
sterilization. Most notably, Edmonton’s Charles Camsell Hospital, which was
often used to treat Aboriginal people, was operated by the Federal government
and did not close its doors until 1996. There are current Class Action law
suits involving Aboriginal individuals who were placed in foster care between
the years of 1960 and 1996 (not that long ago!) and also those involving women
who were sterilized against their will; these law suits state that Canada did
not intervene to prevent these horrible acts and consequently participated in
(rather than protecting against) the destruction of Aboriginal culture.
What does all of this mean in moving forward? Well, I would
hope that we can agree that history was not so long ago, that the detrimental
effects of these attempts at cultural genocide are still ever present today.
Understanding that history is still in the present can hopefully put us in the
right frame of mind to talk about the future in a way that focuses on hope
rather than blame. We MUST make sure that we do not allow history to repeat
itself. In particular, we should be very concerned that Aboriginal children are
still vastly overrepresented in the Foster Care system and that this is
perpetuated by the current direction of the Criminal Justice System. In fact,
the imprisonment of Aboriginal people has taken over where the Residential
school system left off. Aboriginal culture will continue to deteriorate in our
country until we are able to address the root causes of crime, and the over-representation
of Aboriginal people in our prisons. We MUST focus on crime prevention, and a
large part of this solution should involve efforts that enhance culture and
traditions, not promote fear and detract from their practices. A summary
of my opinions:
Interventions. Can we do
more to intervene when an Aboriginal child is being placed into a
non-Aboriginal home? How can we be a part of the solution? Can we do more
to intervene when an Aboriginal mother is being incarcerated for crimes
related to protecting her children, when that incarceration will only
further damage her family and her children? Is this justice? What is
needed in our community and in our province so that more of us feel
equipped to intervene?
Prevention. We cannot
emphasize enough the importance of prevention. There needs to be more
emphasis on holistic preventative action that promotes healthy families
and individuals, healing from trauma, and developing skills for the
future. There are pots of funding for prevention; unfortunately there is
not enough money to go around. How unfortunate is it that grassroots
agencies must all vie for the same pots of money just so that we can
develop a sustainable program to make a difference. If there was
more money on prevention (perhaps redirecting from the millions spent on
incarceration, for example) we could all work in closer collaboration and
wouldn’t have to struggle so hard just to make ends meet. Isn’t it further
ironic that “Corrections” cannot say no to anyone (the revolving door is ever
present, and even when our prisons are busting at the seams, they must
find a way to accommodate even more individuals), yet Agencies wanting to
pursue prevention programming can be told ‘no’. … Shows where our
priorities are!
Education and Awareness. I
started this blog post by stating that I don’t believe enough people know
about the 60s Scoop and what it means locally. Understanding these effects
and having us all on the same page is important. Then, we can work
together to dispel myths and start important conversations where they
matter the most.
Were you well aware of these events already? Or is this
relatively new information to you? What will you do with this information now
that you are aware? How does this make you feel? I confess that it has taken me
over a week to write this blog post, in part because I am busy, but also
because it is a very uncomfortable topic to write about. I hope, though, that
we can all talk about the things that make us the most uncomfortable because
often those are the topics that should be emphasized… How do we truly know in
what direction we need to travel (and on a practical note, how EFry should move
forward as an Agency) if we don’t understand the complete history? I look at
the beautiful faces of the women who access our services and I know that so
many of them have been directly or indirectly affected by discrimination every
day of their lives. Has it directly or indirectly impacted you? And if not,
does it feel right that discrimination should impact anyone?!
Maybe then, I can ask a favor of you? Can you ask just 1
person if they’ve heard of the 60s Scoop? And if they say no, why not fill them
in and educate whenever possible. That way there can be more of us on the same
page about these histories and current realities today.
My Mom was an alcoholic and my Dad had extreme anger
problems. I grew up without boundaries and without many feelings of love. I was
kicked out of the house at the age of fifteen. I was fortunate in getting a
job, though, and by the time I was sixteen I was working full-time as a nurse’s
assistant at a facility for seniors.
Looking back, I can see my first introduction to the
world of addictions came when I was working as a nurse’s assistant. I had a
patient who passed away on me and that hit me pretty hard. At the same time I
was having a lot of problems with headaches and stress.
One of my co-workers gave me some Tylenol 1 to deal with the pain. I may have
started off taking them for the pain, but before too long, I was taking them
for the buzz. The codeine in Tylenol 1 acts as an opiate - and I spent almost
thirty years taking them regularly. At one point, I was taking up to ten pills a day. I often told myself I was only
taking them for the pain of arthritis and sciatica, but I know now that I was
also taking them to deal with stress.
I got married in 1994.I always managed to find myself in abusive relationships. I didn’t have
a lot of self-esteem, so I didn’t think I deserved anyone nice. I didn’t do
much better when I was married. I always felt that my husband (ex-husband now)
was more interested in having a baby than in
having a wife, and we seemed to drift apart.
About this time, I was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder,
a condition where my moods went from extreme depression to extreme mania.. I
started taking medication to deal with my illness - and it didn’t help that I
was also using a lot of Tylenol 1. They probably kept my prescribed medications
from working as well as they could have.
When my daughter was five-and-a-half and was old enough
to go to school, I wandered into a lounge one day and found myself playing a
VLT machine. These machines have a very voracious appetite for people like me,
and I was hooked from the first moment. It didn’t help that I ended up winning
$500.00 off the machine the first day. It created unrealistic expectations
about how easy it was to win. When I sat down at the VLTs, I didn’t have to
worry about any of the problems in my life. It was like I had tunnel vision,
all I could see was the machine. I didn’t worry about my marriage, I didn’t
worry about bills I had to pay - all I focused on was the machine. I thought to
myself ‘If this isn’t fun, I don’t know what is!’
I gambled
heavily for about two-and-a-half years, and probably ended up losing over $28,000 dollars over that time period. I couldn’t
believe how addictive the experience was. When I sat down at the machines, I
wouldn’t even get up to go to the washroom. Every once in a while I’d look around at the
other people playing VLTs in the lounge. Nobody was smiling, and nobody was
talking to anybody else. They were completely caught up in the same kind of
tunnel vision as me. I always went to
bars where I didn’t expect to see family or friends because of the shame I felt
over what I was doing.
On rare occasions when I would win, I always told myself
I would spend the money wisely. I won $1900.00 one day. **I went home and broke the money up into different piles. One pile
was going to go to rent, another pile was going to go to groceries, another pile
to pay off bills, and the last pile I would take with me to the bar the next day to see if I could win big again on
the Lucky Seven machine. Well, I went through the money I set aside for
gambling, then I gambled the money I set aside for groceries, rent and bills.
By the end of the day, there was nothing left. I just didn’t have the willpower
to stop. Now I know that addiction has nothing to do
with willpower. It is a disease of brain.
One day when I finished losing money at the VLTs, I
realized I didn’t even have enough money to pay the babysitter I hired to look
after my daughter. I was absolutely desperate. I walked to a nearby grocery
store and attempted to rob it by pretending I had a gun in my pocket. The clerk
wasn’t falling for it, though, and he didn’t give me any money. I felt terrible
when I walked away from the store. I thought to myself that maybe if I went
back to the clerk and apologized, he would let bygones be bygones. When I got
back to the store, the RCMP were there taking the clerk’s statement, and they
immediately put me in custody. I came up with a ridiculous story about how I
had been kidnapped and forced to rob the place, but the
police simply weren’t buying my story. They assumed I
had a serious gambling problem but they treated me quite well, though,
and arranged it so that if I went to the clerk and apologized for my actions,
they would drop the charges as long as I stayed out of trouble.
You might think that would have been enough to scare me
straight, but it wasn’t. A week later, I was gambling again, and once again I
found myself broke and desperate. I stole a lady’s purse from the back of her
chair and ran into the bathroom. Once again, the police were called - but this
time they weren’t going to let me off easy. They charged me with the purse
theft, and also charged me with the attempted robbery a week earlier. I was
sentenced to two and a half years, conditional
sentence, plus six months of house arrest, two years of probation, and
100 hours of community service. I then admitted myself
into an addiction recovery centre in Lloydminster.
I stayed at the recovery centre for three weeks, and it
did give me some coping mechanisms and insights into the nature of my addiction
- but it wasn’t long enough or in-depth enough to really stop my gambling
problems. As a matter of fact, I stopped off at the first roadside lounge I saw
when I was released from the centre and started playing the VLTs.
When I got back home to
Edmonton later that day, my soon to be ex-husband had changed the locks on our
doors and told me I was kicked out. This led to quite an argument, and the
police were called out. Once the circumstances were explained to them, they basically
told me that since we obviously didn’t get along, we couldn’t stay in the same
household. Since I already had my bags packed with luggage I had taken with me
to rehab, they told me that it only made sense that I should be the one to
leave. I moved back into my Mom’s place for a few weeks. I talked to a
psychiatrist and a psychologist who were helping me deal with my mental health
and also with the issues in my life. I told them I wanted custody of my
daughter - but they convinced me it probably wasn’t in her best interest. She
was in a stable home with a father who really loved her and cared for her - I
simply couldn’t offer her that kind of stability. I still kept in contact with
her, though. I spoke to her every day and had her stay with me every other
weekend.
I ended up moving into a basement suite with a guy who
had introduced me to more serious drugs. We were mostly using pot to start off
with, but eventually we moved to harder stuff. I stayed with him for a couple
of years, and I started smoking a lot of crack. I didn’t feel I had anything
else to lose, or any lower that I could sink, so I didn’t see any reason not to
use drugs. I used crack regularly for about three years. My family basically
disowned me. They realized I couldn’t be trusted.
I was on social assistance at this time, and that didn’t
pay enough for me to afford the crack I was taking, so I started working as a
prostitute through an on-line dating service. I ended up working as a
prostitute for 2 years, and that brought me up to about the year 2006. By that
point, I had managed to give up gambling - but I was still smoking crack and
working as a prostitute. I simply exchanged one addiction for another.I was in bed one day after a 2-day binge and
it dawned on me that “I have sold my soul. There is no lower I can go. I’m
going to die if I keep this up.” I gave up working as a prostitute and
taking crack that very day.
I had one slip a couple of months later when I wanted to
use crack again. I got in my car to go buy the drugs when I got into a car
accident. The police responded to the accident, and I was given a $2500.00 fine
for not having insurance. I didn’t have the money to pay the fine, so I was
told I could go to jail or be sentenced to 365 hours of community service.I chose to do the 365 hours, then, once again
I was given another choice. I could either go on work crews or take part in the
Changing Paths program at Elizabeth Fry. I chose the Changing Paths program,
and what a difference it has made in my life.
When I first got to the program, I had an attitude and I
was very abrupt with people. It was all about me.I thought to myself “maybe I’ll just do
the twenty days in jail rather than sit here and listen to these people.”
Florence was in charge of the program, and she was extremely patient with me.
We had a lot of one-on-one time where she was able to
listen me.
I felt a little bit like an onion the way she was able to
peel back layers of my life and look at all the issues - starting with my
childhood. I realized that I engaged in a lot of those negative activities
largely because of a lack of self-esteem. I never learned any good values, and
I never thought much of myself. I was still carrying all this pain from my
childhood and had never dealt with it.
I had started off in Changing Paths quite grudgingly, but
eventually I realized I need to be here. I started listening to a lot
more of what Florence and the other people around me had to say. I came to
realize that I am a good person and I have a good heart.
While I was doing my hours in Changing Paths, I went to a
pain clinic and learned how to manage my pain without resorting to drugs like
Tylenol 1. I take pills prescribed by my doctor to help me deal with my
depression - but that is all I take anymore. Florence was
very supportive of me throughout this ordeal, and this made the whole
thing a lot easier to bear.
I had 365 hours to spend in the program, and as that time
drew to a close I actually got pretty scared. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able
to count on her support anymore. Florence
reassured me and told me I would be okay. She said you can always come down to
the Elizabeth Fry building and have something to do on a daily basis.
Florence was very much of a mentor for me. When I
finished my hours, I realized I needed to have
something to do with my life, and she said ‘the world unfolds as it should -
something will come along for you.’ Florence helped me find a volunteer
position at the courthouse, but that didn’t work out for me.A few weeks later, a
volunteer position came up at the clothing room at the Elizabeth Fry Society, and I jumped at the chance to help out there.
I’ve been working in the clothing room and doing odd jobs around the office for
the last two-and-a-half years.
I love my life now, and I love what I’m doing. I’ve got a
sense of self-esteem now, and I realize I have a lot to offer. I’m very
friendly, I love working with people, and I have a great sense of humor. People
often come into the building down and depressed and I can have them laughing and smiling,
sometimes, when they leave.
I am giving back to society
and I have a reason to get up in the morning. I’ve also managed to re-establish
ties with my friends, my family and my daughter. I don’t need gambling or drugs
to be happy. I am living proof that good things can happen.
I live my life by the motto that ‘if you’ve got one
foot in yesterday, and one foot in tomorrow, you’re peeing on today!’ I
don’t ever forget where I came from, but I will never go back there again.
_______________________________________
We are honoured to have Jo-Ann as a part of our team, and are touched that she would share her story!
I have many fond EFry memories, most involve our women and plenty of laughter. There is one in particular that remains with me to this day:
In September 2004, I was rushing to get myself organized to head to the Edmonton Remand Centre. Our Prison Liaison Program visits women who are incarcerated there; we bridge the gap between prison and the community, we offer resources and supports and help them to prepare for release. I was still a student at this time and was worried about an upcoming school deadline;plus, I was facilitating what was then our ‘Teen Stoplifting’ program and I was worried about how I was going to recruit girls to participate. In a nutshell – lots on my mind. I was breezing past our drop-in centre getting ready to head out and I stopped in my tracks. You could hear a pin drop in our drop-in, yet it was full of women. …
Our Aboriginal Women’s Program Coordinator at the time had all of our women so thoroughly engaged in traditional beading that the room was so silent it was eerie. The focus was tremendous. I’ve been in rooms with scientists and scholars whose focus couldn’t compare to that of these women. Then, the Coordinator stood up and started talking about the beads and what their traditional meanings were as she was taught by her Elder. The women continued to bead, but you could tell that not a single word was left dangling. They absorbed everything. Their focus remained this way for hours. Yes, I eventually did go to the Remand, but I stood there watching for quite a while. It was an incredible moment for me.
I suppose what was so meaningful about this moment was that, even though I consider myself to be non-judgmental, perhaps I still carried a few generalizations about our women, and this very moment dispelled many of them. Our women can often lack patience: if they want a bus ticket, they pretty much mean that they would like it right now, please and thank you. Due to mental illnesses, and general lifestyle experiences, they often lack the ability to see, “oh, she’s helping another woman right now, I should wait my turn.” Therefore, we often spend a fair amount of time (especially on our busy days), helping to role model these behaviors and we interweave these life skills into the services we offer. So, I suppose that one of the generalizations I had made is that perhaps our women can always work on their patience. But really, can’t we all?!
I have tried beading before. I am horrible at it. I have no….patience…. for it. Yet our women not only found patience to partake in a beading workshop that day, but they also cultivated it along with this peaceful serenity that enveloped the room. It was amazing.
One woman who I was assisting to find a lawyer, who was at her wits end paying for her bills, and who was crying hysterically in our office the day before, was completely transfixed and totally focused on her beading task at hand. Another woman who the day before attempted to access our services but was turned away as she was intoxicated, was clearly sober and entirely attentive at that moment. Each woman around the table had a story like this.
Truthfully, our drop-in, at times can be a bit chaotic. When it’s busy, with 12 or more women present, as was the case this day, I might often describe the drop in as the opposite of quiet. I certainly would not normally use the words serene and calm to describe it on a busy day. So to witness the peacefulness and the attention to detail that our women demonstrated was truly remarkable.
I felt so proud of them. I felt so honoured to be in that room at that moment. These women are amazing, and they teach me lessons like this everyday. Our women have gifts and talents that, when fostered, can blossom into skills that are meaningful to themselves, and to our community. They deserve a chance to foster these skills, though, and they deserve a chance to prove us all wrong! If we are willing to have our eyes opened, as mine were that day in 2004, I know we can see them in a different light, and our community can do more to foster their dignity and worth.
