Program for re-offenders breathes sigh of relief
TORONTO, ON—The federal government has granted $7.4 million to a national program that supports sex offenders after their release from prison.
Funding for Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) had been "in limbo" when national director Andrew McWhinnie was informed by an official from the National Centre for Crime Prevention by telephone that funding was denied.
"We were flabbergasted," McWhinnie says, adding the program has benefited from ongoing support from Correctional Services Canada. A groundswell of support from faith groups, government officials and law enforcement followed, urging the government to reconsider funding.
Shortly thereafter CoSA received word from the office of Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan that funding had been granted over five years and that the previous denial had been a miscommunication.
"We learned we had a lot of friends," McWhinnie says. "This program has actually been demonstrated to reduce victimization in the community. The government got behind it…and many, many people across the country got behind it.
CoSA is currently running support groups for sexual offenders from 16 sites across Canada. McWhinnie says that 83 per cent of the men who take part in the program do not reoffend.
The new funding will allow them to double the number of offenders in the program to some 300 next year.
"They come back to society angry and fearful," says Eileen Henderson, restorative justice coordinator for Mennonite Central Justice Committee Ontario. "They are at a huge risk to reoffend. Pushing people out to the margins and excluding them escalates the risk and escalates the fear."
CoSA helps ex-offenders find housing and access the services they need. "We also extend a hand of friendship," says McWhinnie. "They agree to be responsible for their behavior. And they know that if they are involved in dangerous behavior we will not hesitate to pick up the phone and call the police."
CoSA began in Hamilton in 1994 when a Mennonite church formed an accountability group with a repeat offender who police labeled a "100 per cent reoffend risk." The man died recently. He never reoffended.
"It's not rocket science," says Henderson. "People do best when they are in community and not isolated." At the same time, Henderson doesn't want to portray offenders as merely misguided. "They've created incredible harm, and they need to acknowledge that," he says. "And we need to forever keep in the forefront of our minds the voices of those who have been victimized and their need to feel safe."
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