Sex-offender recovery program in search of new funding
SASKATOON, SK—A Mennonite Central Committee program that comes alongside sexual predators following their release from prison suddenly finds itself in survival mode, despite a proven track record of helping most of them stay out of trouble.
The federal government has told staff and volunteers involved with Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) that their funding will soon dry up—and they should start seeking support elsewhere.
“It jolts people, it surprises people,” says Stephen Siemens, the MCC’s restorative justice coordinator. “Trying to integrate sex offenders back into the community, that’s hard enough. So anything like this just sends their wheels spinning, and panic can ensue.”
CoSA was birthed 20 years ago, when members of a Mennonite church in Hamilton, Ontario, decided to offer a released child-sex offender help in finding a job and a place to live. They stayed in regular contact with him, becoming his friend and gaining his trust. Although he was deemed as highly likely to reoffend, he never did.
In fact, a study in 2009 found that sexual offenders who went through the program were 83 per cent less likely to reoffend. Today CoSA operates in 18 locations across Canada, with 700 volunteers helping more than 150 former offenders.
Saskatoon volunteer Eric Olfert has helped four of them. Only one has reoffended.
“One guy I’ve been friends with for 11 years said, ‘You are not only friends, you are special friends,’” says Olfert. “He’s got paranoia, so if he makes other friends he’s not willing to tell them that. But we know and we’re still his friends.”
The problem is that a $1.5 million non-renewable federal grant runs out in September. As well, Correctional Service of Canada announced it was cancelling a separate $650,000 grant—a decision that Public Safety Minister Stephen Blaney reversed when told of it by three Kitchener-area Conservative MPs.
One of them was Harold Albrecht, a member of the Brethren in Christ communion. “This was a bureaucratic decision that was made, and as soon as [Blaney] became aware of it, he was very supportive,” he says. “The program works. It’s as simple as that.”
But the extension is only for a year—and is not enough to cover CoSA’s operating costs.
“There are limits on the funds the government has to spend,” says Albrecht, “and we do want to encourage grassroots-level support and engagement on these issues.”
As a result, Siemens says CoSA members are “getting really creative” in developing new funding sources. He remains hopeful the program will continue.
“We need to remember whose work this is. If we seek first the Kingdom, I trust the rest will be provided,” he says. “I would hope that congregations also see this as something that’s quite important. It’s keeping us safe and it’s saving us a lot of money.”
Olfert is not sure if that is the answer, since many churches “are not really feeling all that wealthy these days.” But whatever happens, he says, “We’re not going to quit.
“For many of us, it’s become part of what it means to be faithful Christians. But the ability to recruit, to get the word out, to get more people engaged, is certainly reduced if we don’t have people who can devote most of their time to this.”
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