Home Programs Corrections Aboriginal corrections Successful projects

Successful projects

Below are some examples of projects that have been funded in the past. Please note that PSEPC is not looking to replicate these projects. Rather, PSEPC is seeking to work with and fund communities or organizations that are taking their own unique approaches to dealing with crime and victimization.

• Mamowichihitowin Community Wellness Program
  Hinton, Alberta
• Ahousaht Circle of Healing
  Ahousaht First Nation, British Columbia
• Biidaaban: The Mnjikaning Community Healing Model
  Mnjikaning First Nation, Ontario
• Relatives Working Together
  Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

Mamowichihitowin Community Wellness Program

Hinton, Alberta

The Mamowichihitowin Community Wellness Program is designed to treat regressed sexual offenders who would benefit from intensive therapy more than from incarceration. The aim is to prevent recidivism and promote wellness within the family unit.

How it works

The offenders start the program when they plead guilty to charges and then adhere to the program’s protocol and counselling program. Should the offenders fail to comply with the conditions of their counselling program, they will return to court to be sentenced to incarceration. The program prioritizes community involvement, with the participation of elders and the consideration of traditional Aboriginal ideologies. The overall goal is to provide healing for the victims and offenders, put them and their families on a sustainable path of healing, and increase awareness of sexual abuse in the communities.

Ahousaht Circle of Healing

Ahousaht First Nation, British Columbia

In the Ahousaht Circle of Healing, traditional teachings, rituals and ceremonies are combined with Western psychological traditions, techniques and teaching. Community members who have bridged the gap between the two traditions through their own personal journey now work with clients one-on-one, both clinically and traditionally in a community context. Elders, families and interested community members provide feedback as to how healing processes were undertaken in the past and when certain aspects were done (for example, according to the season).

How it works

The program includes physical retreats to an isolated island and community healing circles. Seminars and workshops from the ‘In Search of Your Warrior’ program, an anger management program for Aboriginal people, are used throughout the retreat. The most important aspects of the healing process include working on self-identity and the emphasis on traditional teachings. The approach enables families to begin to use their spirituality, values, beliefs, rituals and ceremony to facilitate healing.

Biidaaban: The Mnjikaning Community Healing Model

Mnjikaning First Nation, Ontario

Biidaaban is about promoting community wellness, breaking the cycle of abuse within families and within the community, respecting individuals not only for their personalities, but also their beliefs and values. At the core of the process is the concept of healing rather than punishment. To become involved, persons who have harmed others (offenders) need to take responsibility for their actions and commit to making amends. In addition, those who have been harmed (victims) must consent to the offender participating in the program even if the people who were harmed are not yet ready to go through the process themselves.

How it works

The core of the healing model is the Biidaaban Protocol, a detailed process that provides explicit procedures to follow when there is a disclosure of sexual abuse. Individuals are assigned to support the victim, the offender and their associated families. The police are notified and charges are laid at the outset. 

The community, as a whole, then works toward healing through extensive counselling sessions. Should there not be willingness on the part of the victim or the offender to participate, the case is handled by the mainstream justice system. Once the offender accepts responsibility, the community will work with all affected individuals to develop a treatment plan that it will submit to the mainstream courts. This plan focuses on the offender working with the Biidaaban team towards the healthy resolution of the victimization, in other words, towards a restorative solution.

The protocol has been signed by the community, police and the Government of Ontario, signifying the importance of the process and validating it in the eyes of the court.

Read the full report on this innovative project: Biidaaban: The Mnjikaning Community Healing Model

Relatives Working Together

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

Relatives Working Together puts offenders and their families together before and after the offender is released from a correctional facility. It aims to assist the transition into the family and community. The process builds upon the progress that was made in healing while the offender was incarcerated, building healthier relationships between the offenders, their families and the community.

This project addresses the needs of offenders, and is designed to stop the cycle of offending and repeat offending that has so often characterized Aboriginal offenders. The project is also designed to support a crime-free lifestyle for the entire family. 

How it works

Prince Albert Grand Council hired a full-time family reintegration worker who reports to the Director of Justice. The worker has recruited offenders and their families from the Prince Albert Grand Council Healing Lodge and has interviewed them to establish appropriateness for participation in the project. He acts as a counsellor, circle/group facilitator and case manager. The worker links the offenders and their families to the appropriate resources -- elders, case workers, community justice workers and programs – during the healing period.