Do More Mondays - #129 - The John Howard Society of Ontario

I recently started reading Perfect by Rachel Joyce and there is a character who struggles with mental illness ~ half his life is spent in and out of psychiatric facilities.  He is reintroduced to society with more or less no support, lives in a van, and bumbles between jobs trying to make ends meet.

A few days ago I came across this article in The Toronto Star ~ the complexity of prison reform, where the environment isn't encouraging to change but coming out a more sophisticated criminal.  Those who do try to pick up life skills walk out without bus fare, residency, direction etc.  

These parallels that have inspired me to help.  The John Howard Society perform essentially two roles: advocating to the Government of Canada for correctional and criminal justice policy that adheres to the principles of "effective, just and humane"; and, deliver best practice services that embody these principles and are shown to be economically responsible and accountable to the communities in which our offices are located.

The non-profit organization spans 65 offices across Canada whose mission is to provide various kinds of rehabilitative and re-integrative programs and services to released prisoners and their families.  These include individual and group counselling, assistance in finding employment or housing, literacy classes, life skills instruction, and visiting in local institutions.  They Society also operate a range of crime prevention and early intervention programs such as alternatives to suspension, substance abuse counselling, and parenting and life skills.

Prison is supposed to be unpleasant and few people are improved by the experience. On the contrary, some are made worse.  Despite the efficacy of punitive incarceration, does it follow that we should continue to punish people after they're released?  

I challenge anyone to do more.