Posts Tagged ‘friends of crime prevention’

“We are collaborating with the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council to help influence policy at a local level and to help us disseminate our findings.

Virtual Porch Chats 2020!

What are Porch Chats?

Porch chats are an opportunity for the community to come together and have conversations about what’s happening in our community. They are to promote understanding, build community connections and facilitate action among citizens and communities. Porch Chats are part or the Friends of Crime Prevention initiative and chat ideas are brought forth my members of our community. Some porch chats have been recorded and can be found below. 

Brought to you by the Friends of Crime Prevention, All 2020 Porch Chats are part of the #KeepFamiliesSafe Campaign. #KeepFamiliesSafe is rooted in raising awareness of family, friends, neighbours and people in the work place about family violence especially under the strain and isolation of the pandemic. It encourages community to pay attention and equips them with ways they can help.

Usually Porch chats are held on the porch and surrounding gardens of the historic Governor’s house, home of the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council at 73 Queen St. N. in Kitchener. But, adapting to Covid-19, we will meet on a virtual porch. BYOL (Bring your Own Lemonade) See you there! 

We have had four Porch Chats on Prevention Family Violence over summer all delivered in English. With the help of generous community members we have been able to offer Porch Chats in languages other than English. If you would like a Porch Chat facilitated in your language please contact Julie Thompson.

Upcoming Porch Chats :

Impact of Migration on Families and the added Risks During Covid 19

Recognizing that family violence takes place in all cultures, we have worked with the #KFS coalition partners to extend the conversation into languages other than English. Lucky to meet Asmaa Cober, she helped coordinate four of these Porch Chats, in four different languages starting with those she spoke. These are the first Porch Chats facilitated in languages other than English. We hope to extend the conversation into others of the rich and diverse communities that make up Waterloo region.

In this porch chat, we will build understanding how family relationships, mental health, and stress levels change after arrival to a new home and how is that connected to Covid 19 situation. We will have a dialogue about cross generational and cross cultural conflict that can lead to family violence. We will present signs of abusive relationships and discuss what we can do as community members in helping families stay safely together. We will explore some tips to help adults and children to use conflict resolution skills to solve problems. We will elaborate on some services that are available to help families improve  relationships and maintain family peace. Our main goal help communities come together to keep families together and safe.

We are a coalition of 18 organizations concerned about the impact of the Pandemic on families. Like the increased stress and isolation of the pandemic, family strain is universal and we need each other now more than ever.  Please help us get the word out.

In Farsi : عنوان این گفت‌وگو «تأثیر مهاجرت بر روابط خانوادگی» است

در این گفت‌وگو، ما به چگونگی تغییر روابط خانوادگی، بهداشت روان و بالارفتن سطح استرس پس از ورود به خانهٔ جدید (کشور میزبان) و نیز ارتباط آن با وضعیت همه‌گیری بیماری کووید ۱۹ (کرونا) خواهیم پرداخت.

همچنین ما درمورد درگیری‌های بین‌نسلی و میان‌فرهنگی گفت‌وگو خواهیم کرد؛ عواملی که هر یک یا با هم می‌تواند به بروز ناآرامی و خشونت در خانواده منجر شود.

ما نشانه‌هایی از روابط خشن یا دارای آزار را ارائه خواهیم داد و سپس درمورد آنچه می‌توانیم به‌عنوان اعضای جامعه انجام دهیم تا کمک کند خانواده‌ها در امنیت و آرامش کنار یکدیگر زندگی کنند به بحث خواهیم پرداخت.

نکات ما، برخی راه‌های برای کمک به هر دو گروه بزرگ‌سالان و کودکان در استفاده از مهارت‌های حل تعارض را در برمی‌گیرد و همچنین در مورد برخی خدماتِ روان‌شناختی و اجتماعیٍ دردسترس که برای کمک به خانواده‌ها در بهبود روابط و حفظ آرامش توضیح خواهیم داد. هدف اصلی ما حفظ خانواده‌ها در کنار یکدیگر در محیطی امن و آرام است.

Monday, November 30, 2020: Register Here

In Arabic :  تاثير الغربة على العلاقات العائلية

خلال الجلسة سوف نركز على النقاط التالية : التاثيرات والتغييرات في العلاقات العائلية والصحة النفسية بعد الهجرة الى مكان جديد، وارتباطها بوباء الكورونا. سوف نناقش الازمات المتعلقة بالاجيال والثقافات المختلفة والتي قد تؤدي الى عنف ضمن الاسرة. أيضا، سوف نتكلم عن مؤشرات العلاقات الغير صحية أو المسيئة وماذا نستطيع ان نفعله كاعضاء في مجتمعنا لمساعدة العائلات، لكي يشعروا بالامان مع بعضهم البعض. سنتطرق ايضا الى بعض المفاتيح الاساسية لمساعدة الاولاد والكبار بتطوير مهارات حل النزاعات. كما سنتكلم عن الخدمات المتواجدة لمساعدة العائلات بتحسين العلاقات فيما بينهم والمحافظة على السلام والسكينة. هدفنا الاساسي هو المحافظة على وحدة وسلامة الاسرة.

Dec 2; Register Here

In Turkish : Göçün Aile İlişkilerine Etkisi

Yeni bir yaşama başladığımız bu yeni ülkede, aile ilişkilerinin, akıl ve ruh sağlığının, ve kişisel stres seviyelerinin nasıl değiştiğini ve COVID19’un bu değişimdeki etkisini konuşacağımız bu sohbette, aile içi şiddete yol açabilen, nesiller ve kültürler arası çatışmalarla ilgili diyaloglar da kuracağız.

Kötüye kullanılan, suistimal edilen ilişkilerin izlerini sürecek, toplum olarak ailelerin nasıl bir arada huzur içinde ve güvende yaşamasını destekleyebileceğimizi ele alacağız.

Yetişkinlerin ve çocukların fikir ayrılıklarını nasıl çözebilecekleri ile ilgili bazı ipuçları paylaşacağız. Ailelerin ilişkilerini iyileştirmelerine ve aile huzurunu sürdürmelerine yardımcı olmak için mevcut olan bazı hizmetlerin üzerinde duracağız.

Bu sohbetteki ana hedefimiz ailelerin bir arada ve güvende olması için ne yapmamız gerektiğini bilmek, gerekeni yapmak ve iyileştirici adımlar atılmasını sağlamaktır.

Dec 8 Register Here

In Kurdish (Sorani and Badini): ‘ئه م دئ جاوه دانوستاندينئ دگه ل خو و خيزان و زاروكين خو كه ين’

ئه ف بابه ته دئ ل سه ر وئ جه ندئ بيت ئه م دئ جا وه خو و خيزانا خو دير كه ين ژ نه ئارام بونا ميشيكي و هزرا و هه ر نه ئارام بونه كي ده مئ دهيه وه لاته كئ ني و تايبه ت في وه ختئ ئه م هه مي تيدا دژين يئ كورونايئ دا (COVID 19)و هه روه ها دئ جاوه خو و خيزانا خو ژ في فايروسي پاريزين.و دئ جاوه كه لتوري خو كونجيني دگه ل كه لتوريت دي و سه ره ده ريئ و هاريكاري دگه ل ئيك كه ين دا پيكفه ده ستيت خو بكه ين ئيك بو ئارام بون ژ لايه نئ ميشكي ڤه و دلا.

Tuesday, Dec 15:  Register Here

More Porch Chats may be announced.

Some of our past Porch Chats have been recorded and posted below.

Past Porch Chats 2020:  

Understanding Emotional Abuse and Precursors to Violence in the Home  – Link to recording below 

• Click here to view recording: shorter 105 Mins
• Click here to view recording: longer 118 Mins  (includes detailed description of Women’s Crisis Service)

Understanding the Impact of Trauma and Abuse on Children  Aug 12:

Resolving Conflict in Families – Aug 19

Becoming An Active Bystander Registration –   Click here to view recording.   Aug 24, 2020 

Stay Tuned!

Click here to visit our Events Calendar for more details.

Hats off to this amazing coalition!

• Community Justice Initiatives – The Just Community
• City of Kitchener
• City of Waterloo
• Region of Waterloo
• Family & Children’s Services of the Waterloo Region
• Child Witness Centre
• Lutherwood Children’s Mental Health
• Wilmot Family Resource Centre Inc.
• Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region
• Waterloo Region Immigration Partnership
• Kitchener Waterloo Multicultural Centre – KWMC

Communities make systems change

All of the calls to action already mentioned in the previous blog posts (humanizing people in prison & advocating for programs that work) help to create and strengthen system change in big and small ways. The work of larger structural change is long term, often slow work: Not for the faint of heart, but everyone can still play a role.

Here are a few ways you or your friends can contribute toward society and system changes.

• Male Allies Against Sexual Violence – Through public education, the Male Allies program invites men and boys to be leaders in the work of ending gender-based violence. Their goal is to encourage critical introspection in men and boys, which begins by helping them to understand gender-based violence as a men’s issue. Over the past eight years, they have offered hundreds of workshops to thousands of men and boys and have just started a ground-breaking training initiative with the Ontario Hockey League.

• Learn more about the root causes of crime. In order to prevent something, it’s important to understand the contributing factors. As a community, we have the responsibility to address these conditions which hinder healthy development and can lead to criminal behaviour.
• Learn more about Smart on Crime approaches to addressing crime. Everyone has heard about tough on crime, but what about Smart on Crime? As a community, we can use language that shows we can build a community that is safe and vibrant for all people living in Waterloo Region.

• Work with and support organizations that address violence against women. Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region and the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region both provide direct services to women and children that have experienced violence and they do a great deal of community programming to raise awareness and reduce incidents of violence in our community.

• Follow the advocacy work of Howard Sapers – Until recently, Howard Sapers was the Correctional Investigator of Canada responsible for the investigation of individual and systemic concerns. He was also a guest for a 2015 Friends of Crime Prevention event. On November 8, the Ontario Government appointed Mr. Sapers to be an independent advisor on corrections reform and to provide advice to the government on the use of segregation and ways to improve the province’s adult corrections system.

When we have people and community organizations working at all three areas of action to humanize people in prison and reduce stigma for loved ones, advocate for programs that work and enter into deeper levels of system and societal change, we can move the needle on progressive change.

If you decide to take some action, we would love to hear about it – 6 weeks from now, or 6 months from now! Get in touch with Juanita Metzger to share your story.

Advocate for programs that work

Inevitably, the Turn the Page book club discussions turned to the support provided to people in prison while they serve their sentences and the programs and support available during parole or upon release. Many people in attendance admitted to not knowing the reality facing people on the ‘inside’.

The past 5-7 years have seen a cut in federal funding to several prison support programs (inside and outside prisons) that have shown to be effective in reducing recidivism, building skills for reintegration and providing support to some of the most stigmatized prisoners, people who have sexually offended.

You might be interested in supporting these programs with a donation to keep them going. Or, as someone suggested at the book club event, you might want to write a letter to your Member of Parliament advocating for increased funding to support these valuable programs.

• Lifeline provides support and transitional housing to men who have served a life sentence as they prepare for reintegration into our communities. Funding for this program was cut in 2012/2013. Some Lifeline programs are still offered through various St. Leonard Society organizations.

• Circles of Support and Accountability is a Canadian-made restorative justice program for men and women who have committed serious sexual offences. CoSA allows the community to play a direct role in the restoration, reintegration, and risk management of people who are often seen with only fear and anger. COSA experienced the same severe federal funding cuts as Lifeline in 2014 and has spent a great deal of time figuring out how to support a nation-wide program of COSA chapters. They have even some sample letters already prepared which you could use to advocate for reinstated funding for COSA.

• Prison farms have been a part of 6 federal prison institutions since the establishment of correctional facilities in Canada. They were defunded and closed by the federal government between 2009 – 2013. Prison farms provided beneficial employability and training opportunities, time management and responsibility skills, animal therapy, productive labour and physical exercise, access to nature, individual and team building work, and training in farm management and operation. There are many advocating for the return of prison farms as a prosocial training opportunity for inmates. Project Soil published an excellent case study of the prison farms at Frontenac and Pittsburgh Institutions, both Correctional Services of Canada facilities in Ontario.
• Here is a 59 minute film about prison farms in Canada – Til the Cows Come Home.

If you’re super keen, someone suggested having a letter writing party – invite your friends, invite your neighbours!

There are certainly more prisoner support programs that are proven to work, but these three were discussion specifically at the event.

Also check out the call to action for opportunities to be involved in systems and societal changes.

Ways to humanize people in prison & reduce the stigma of loved ones

The Turn the Page book club stimulated a great deal of discussion about the stigma. Society, in general, has a negative stigma against people that have been in prison and often their family member and children too.

People began to ask questions: How do we change this attitude in society and within ourselves? Given that we have a federal prison for women right here in Waterloo Region, how can we help within our own community? How can we get involved?

We’ve pulled together a range of potential ‘calls to action’ that help to humanize people in prison & reduce the stigma of loved ones. As Diane and the panelists reminded us, people in prison will leave prison when their sentences end and return to our communities. Reintegration to life on the ‘outside’ doesn’t happen by magic.

There are countless ways to be involved, likely more than we have to share, but here’s a start.

To start.. Read the Book! If you didn’t get a chance the first time around, it’s still available to borrow at KPL, WPL and Cambridge or get it for sale at Wordsworth Books in Waterloo. We developed a reading guide that might be helpful for checking some of your assumptions and thinking broadly about this issues Diane challenges us with.

If you have a book club, get them to read the book too! We’ve even created a handy Reading Guide to accompany the book.

One of the best ways to start in this area is to work directly with or support the organizations that work with inmates and their families.

• STRIDE is a program of Community Justice Initiatives. STRIDE helps women in prison build informal networks of support that assist them as they reintegrate back to the community. They also prepare the community to receive them safely and supportively. CJI has several other programs that offer support to offenders.

• John Howard Society Waterloo-Wellington offers diverse prevention, diversion, intervention and educational services for children, youth and adults who are in conflict with the law or at risk of getting there.

• Elizabeth Fry Society for Kitchener Waterloo provides gender-specific services, support and advocacy for women within the community, involved in a judicial process or who are serving sentences at Grand Valley Institution for Women, a federal prison for women located in Kitchener.

• Canadian Families and Corrections Network – another community based organization, CFCN assists families affected by criminal behavior, incarceration and community reintegration and they are currently looking for volunteers in the Kitchener Waterloo area to help support families.

• Volunteer at Grand Valley Institution – The Correctional Service of Canada has a volunteer program that works directly with recreational activities, classroom and workshop instruction, and cultural or chaplaincy activities and supports families of offenders or helping released offenders re-adjust to life.

These are all very different volunteer opportunities and if you are very interested, best to do the research and find the best fit for you and your interests. You might discover that you prefer a community based approach rather than a formal institutional setting.

Check out the ‘calls to action’ related to advocating for programs that work and creating system change.

Prisons, Justice and Love: Turn the Page Book Club hosted by Friends of Crime Prevention

When you host a public book club, you just never know how things will unfold, much less when you host one with the title “Prisons, Justice and Love”! But we couldn’t have had a more engaging night if we had tried!

Friends of Crime Prevention were pleased to host the first ever “Turn the Page” Book Club with Diane Schoemperlen in November 2016. Scroll through the photos below for a short photo essay of the evening together with community partners, neighbours and Friends.

This is not my life by Diane Schoemperlen – our first book club selection for the Turn the Page Book Club focused on prisons, justice and love. A very entangled combination!

Friends of Crime Prevention, Jenn Robinson (middle) and Lisa Armstrong (right) were the most friendly greeters! Great to see so many new faces.

As people gathered for the evening, Friends of Crime Prevention had the opportunity to let us know why they are a Friend. Jeanean Thomas – because I care about my community

As people gathered for the evening, Friends of Crime Prevention had the opportunity to let us know why they are a Friend.
Pari Karem – Why not?!

Thanks to John and Wordsworth Books for bringing extra copies of Diane’s book for sale!

The inaugural Turn the Page Book Club was held at Fresh Ground, a new cafe & community space developed by The Working Centre.

48 people gather to hear Diane read from her new book “This is Not My Life: A Memoir of Love, Prison, and other Complications.

Diane reads the first line of the her book, a first line she is quite proud of! You’ll have to read the book to find out why this line still makes her laugh! Or listen to her interview with The Current on CBC Radio where the host reads it out loud.

Diane reading some of the more emotionally challenging parts from her book.

People came prepared! Many had read the book and had very insightful questions. Others came because of the topic, but bought the book by the end of the night!

In addition to a talk and reading by Diane, we invited additional panel members from the community & beyond to complement the discussion of prisons, justice, stigma and relationships. From left: Mike Farwell, Moderator; Diane Schoemperlen, Author; Jen Hutton, Women’s Crisis Services Waterloo Region, Shannon Moroney, Author of Through the Glass; Chris Cowie, ED Community Justice Initiatives

A very intent and listening audience!

Chris Cowie from Community Justice Initiatives shared about the agency’s Restorative Justice mandate and how a more restorative process in prisons could help in countless ways i.e. better integration into society upon release, deeper understanding of the nature of offending, development of new skills to deal with conflict. Teaching and using restorative justice early can also be a prevention tool.

With all the new faces in the audience, it was a great opportunity for many to learn about w hat it means to be a Friend of Crime Prevention!

It only take a few minutes to become a Friend of Crime Prevention – just like Jen Hutton!

Both Diane and Shannon took time to sign books for anyone who wanted. Also a chance for great conversations.

Diane and Shannon proudly display their “I am a Friend” buttons. Diane and Shannon were made honorary Friends and join Howard Sapers and Sir Neville, a guide dog, as Honorary Friends of Crime Prevention.

It was very special to have Shannon and Dianne together in the same evening. Shannon acted as a mentor to Diane during the writing of This is Not My Life. Shannon wrote her book Through the Glass about the life upheaval after husband confessed to the sexual assault and kidnapping of two women. Both Diane and Shannon have rich stories from which our community can learn so much! Diane and Shannon are pictured with Sarah Anderson, event organizer and facilitator from the Crime Prevention Council.

Human Library ‘Books’ to Check Out at Friends of Crime Prevention

As we put the finishing touches on the Friends of Crime Prevention Human Library event, we wanted to share some of the human ‘books’ and ‘library subjects’ you will find that day! Such a rich diversity of experience, knowledge and community change! You will have to use your time wisely to visit even three of these fantastic books.

On poverty/inequality:

• Greg deGroot-Maggetti, Living Wage Waterloo Region & Walking with People in Poverty Program Coordinator, Mennonite Central Committee
• Douglas Bartholomew-Sanders, Commissioner Community Services, Region of Waterloo & Ex-Officio member of WRCPC

On problematic substance use:

• Paul Gregory, Coordinator, Waterloo Region Integrated Drugs Strategy
• Michael Beazely, Associate Professor & Associate Director, Curriculum, University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy &  Education (Post-Secondary) sector representative for WRCPC

On neighbourhood environments:

• Courtney Didier, Executive Director, Alison Neighbourhood Community Centre
• Laurie Strome, Community Leader & Volunteer, Sunnydale Community Association
• Both Laurie & Courtney are Neighbourhood Development sector representatives for WRCPC

On family environments:

• Karen Spencer, Director of Client Services, Family & Children Services of Waterloo Region
• Mary Zilney, Executive Director, Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region & Domestic Violence Response sector representative for WRCPC

On mental health:

• Don Roth, ‎Director of Services, Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington Dufferin & Mental Health (Adult) sector representative for WRCPC
• Nellie Manley, Director Community Services and Housing, Waterloo Region Homes for Mental Health

On housing: 

• Cheryl Grove, Social Planner on Housing Stability, Region of Waterloo
• Lynn Macaulay, Housing and Homelessness Umbrella Group (HHUG) Coordinator, Lutherwood

On youth support & engagement:

• Marla Pender, Youth Coordinator, City of Kitchener & Youth sector representative for WRCPC
• John Shewchuk, Chief Managing Officer, Waterloo Catholic District School Board & Education sector representative for WRCPC
• Peter Rubenschuh, Waterloo Region District School Board, Superintendent of Student Achievement and Well-Being & Education sector representative for WRCPC

What a collection!

Friday November 13, 2015
School of Social Work, Lyle Hallman Building
120 Duke Street West, Kitchener

(paid parking available at Kitchener City Hall. Entrance on Young Street, just across the street from the School of Social Work)

9:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Join us at 8:30 a.m. for our famous coffee social!

Friends of Crime Prevention Human Library: The Root Causes of Crime Edition

If you had the chance…. What questions would you ask from long time community leaders and pioneers in the field of crime prevention in Waterloo Region?

Don’t miss your opportunity with the Friends of Crime Prevention Root Causes of Crime Human Library!

Friday November 13, 2015
School of Social Work, Lyle Hallman Building
120 Duke Street West, Kitchener

9:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Join us at 8:30 a.m. for our famous coffee social!

Preview the list of “subjects” you can check out at the event – what a collection!

This year, 2015, marks the 20th Anniversary of the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention and 20 years of prevention-based thinking about crime prevention through social development.

At our Friends of Crime Prevention event on Friday November 13th, we take a look back at how we and our community have evolved, adapted and lead the way for change on the root causes of crime as a community in Waterloo Region.

In 1996, WRCPC developed The Root Causes of Crime statement as a way to promote a better understanding of the root causes, as complex and interrelated as they are. Earlier this year, WRCPC consulted with our community to guide the development of our 2015 – 2018 strategic plan. We learned that people generally understand the root causes of crime and victimization – which is amazing! The conditions we knew to contribute to crime 20 years ago were identified again today as priority root cause areas in need of focused attention. These include:

• poverty/inequality
• problematic substance use
• neighbourhood environments
• family environments
• mental health
• lack of housing
• lack of supports & engagement for youth

Join your fellow Friends of Crime Prevention for this chance to ‘check out’ and ask questions of our ‘human library books’. Find out what is happening in our community to address these root cause issues, what organizations are involved in the work, what the issues and solutions might be and discover potential opportunities for Friends to get involved!

For more information, contact:
Juanita Metzger 519.575.4400 ext. 3548

From one who knows: Reflection on Prevention, Prisons & Popcorn with Howard Sapers

One of the most anticipated highlights of our year happened last week. In case you happened to  miss it (?!) – although, I’m not sure how you could – Howard Sapers was in town. Yes, THE Howard Sapers. Federal Correctional Investigator for Canada and ombudsman for federally sentenced offenders.

We partnered with Kitchener Public Library as part of their new 85 Queen Speaker Series to host this event and filled the auditorium with 230 people from our community. The action packed evening included a screening of the film “State of Incarceration”, a keynote address by Howard Sapers and a panel discussion with community members, including a formerly incarcerated woman from Grand Valley Institution for Women.

We have a video coming soon of Mr. Sapers’ keynote talk, but in the meantime, you can read his presentation here to catch all the incredible stats and stories he shared that night. He really does effectively paint a vivid picture about the state of Canadian prisons in 2015.

While you wait impatiently for the video, I”ll leave you with these two reflections from two currently incarcerated women from Grand Valley Institution for Women who attend the event. You’ll understand why it was such a big night.

Julie writes:

“I attended the forum for Friends of Crime Prevention, on September 10, 2015.  I cannot begin to tell you how refreshing it is that discussions such as this are taking place. I was both shocked and pleasantly surprised at the amount of progressive people who attended the forum.  There are faces and lives associated with the disturbing statistics Mr. Saper spoke of – mine is one of them.  I was one of two currently incarcerated women at the event, with the Walls to Bridges Collective. Too often incarcerated people are treated as the rejects of society, disposable even, and let’s face it – advocating for us is not at the top of almost all priority lists.  I firmly believe that many incarcerated people would not be in the criminal justice system to begin with, if they had been afforded access to and utilized stronger and earlier preventative measures through social intervention and more accessible social and health services; myself included.  Sadly, I did not consider the flaws in our systems until I was directly affected. Now that I am, however, I cannot turn a blind eye to them anymore, not just for myself, but for the staggering amount of other people making up those statistics, and for those yet to come.  I am relieved to know I am not alone in this quest.  All human life has value – thank you for making “out of sight” not be “out of mind” anymore. The forum helped to humanize us and highlight some of the injustices of our daily reality. I left with a renewed sense of hope and purpose. I am thankful that this forum created a safe place for people to come together, ask questions, and push boundaries. To evoke much needed change will require more bridges to be built than walls. We have a long way to go, but I am hopeful that just as a storm starts with a single raindrop, so too does change start with forums such as this one.”

Denise writes:

Just as the world will always remember September 11, 2001, in a negative light, Thursday, September 10, 2015 will be etched in my mind for as long as I exist as an achievement to social awareness.  You see, since my incarceration it was the only day in which I came in contact with people besides volunteers and members of the Walls to Bridges group and voice my dilemma while feeling safe to bare my soul.  Mr. Howard Sapers provided statistics that were both daunting and hopeful. Information on how tax dollars are truly spent to build and house a growing prison population at a time where the crime rate for the past decade plus has been on the decline. I am part of those statistics and Canada is following the footsteps of the failed American system that ex President Bill Clinton and present sitting President Barak Obama stated ‘is not working’. The large majority of incarcerated people will be released and upon their discharge, are expected to function and contribute to the same society that deemed them as criminals. If education is at least a gateway to success, incarcerated people need more training to learn and utilize skills and tools required to help them successfully add to the fabric of society’s fast paced, ever changing existence. Prevention, Prisons & Popcorn at Kitchen Public Library was a forum that brought together a community of progressive thinking people aware of the challenges society will surely be faced with once the voiceless, faceless people are unconstrained. An awareness of prisons and the need for community inclusion upon the release of prisoners are part of an encompassing subject tax payers don’t realize every member of a community may be accountable for.  After someone goes from inmate to civilian because they have paid their dues to a faulty justice system and they no longer live in the past where they made poor choices, when do they get a fair shot at being seen in a new light? There needs to be more discussions such as the one Prevention, Prisons & Popcorn opened up where communities are aware of their interconnectedness to their surroundings, even their walled surroundings.

Yep, it was that kind of night.

Serving Time: Six months with the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council

Prior to my Master of Social Work student placement at the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council (WRCPC) in January of 2014 I had very little, if any, knowledge of the concept of ‘the root causes of crime’. I knew quite a bit about human development, that we are all products of our past experiences, and it was pretty clear that crime is likewise a result of countless influences; it is so much more than ‘bad people’ doing ‘bad things’. What we do and how we decide to act is dictated by all of the tiny events that make up our lives be they happy or sad, wonderful or traumatic, important or seemingly insignificant. The WRCPC addresses these root causes, this infinite web of experiences and events, to help prevent crime before it occurs.

So it sounds pretty simple right? Address the causes before they lead to trouble, is it really that revolutionary? After spending the past six months with this team I can say with conviction that yes, yes it is! There are so few organizations that dedicate their time and effort solely to the prevention of crime and the study of root causes of criminal activity. If you don’t believe me try to search ‘crime prevention’ or ‘root causes of crime’ in any major search engine and not find something about the WRCPC on the first page. Working with this organization has opened my eyes and, to borrow their phrase, I have a better understanding of how to be ‘smart on crime’. Now it is far easier for me to consider the whole picture rather than simply looking at the end result. Because crime is so complex and intricate, it requires equal complexity and intricacy in order to effectively address it.

If you will, I would like to share with you my understanding of what the WRCPC really is. Rather than explaining the organizational chart of the WRCPC, which, I am by no means an expert, this is a map of my experiences with the WRCPC. Becausethe majority of the work that the WRCPC does involves providing support, information, and networking opportunities for other human service organizations in the Region, they rarely get the chance to advertise the fantastic work that they do.

The following image is an embodiment of my experiences at the WRCPC. These are the things that I directly witnessed or had a role in completing during my stay and I am sure that I didn’t get it all.

Ryan’s Mind Map to illustrate how he understands crime prevention through social development.

The six staff members are the very foundation of the council, providing the nourishment and support that is needed to complete this vast array of work. Each member plays a significant role and sustains an entire branch of ‘crime prevention’. Christiane Sadeler is the bridge between the staff and the council itself (a body of impassioned community members representing the human services sectors throughout the Region). With this sturdy foundation of staff and council members all of the tremendous work is completed. From academic research to community engagement the WRCPC addresses ‘crime prevention’ from all angles.

It has been such a pleasure to work within this jumbled group. I have learned so much and had the pleasure of working with such meaningful and impactful projects. If you have never had the opportunity to work with crime prevention or just want to know more about what it means do what I did; become a Friend of Crime Prevention. Let’s attend a meeting and have a real discussion about the ways we can make our Region stronger, healthier, and happier. There is always more that can be done and my journey is nowhere near complete.

Author: Ryan Maharaj, MSW Student with WRCPC. Ryan recently moved to Waterloo in pursuit of his Masters in Social Work at Wilfird Laurier University. Placed at the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council, he has been given the opportunity to explore the role of male allies in the movement against sexual and intimate partner violence. He firmly believes that with respect, support, compassion, and education we can prevent the occurrences of sexual violence in the next generation.