The prison suicide of Ashley Smith brings corrections deficiencies to light
Ashley Smith was a troubled teen from Moncton, N.B. who had been assessed by child psychologists several times in her youth, and was in constant trouble with the law. She was eventually placed in Ontario’s Grand Valley Institution for Women, a federal prison, when she was 18. (more…)
Security trumps mental health care in Canadian prisons
Canada’s federal correctional investigator, Howard Sapers, has released a report detailing the Correctional Service of Canada’s ongoing dealings with mentally ill prisoners.
The investigator said that “security practices continue to trump clinical needs in the care and custody of offenders with mental health problems.” Mr. Sapers had earlier chronicled the systemic failures that led to the death, by suicide, of 19-year-old inmate Ashley Smith in a Kitchener, Ontario prison cell on October 19, 2007. (more…)
Haven Society responds to need
Half of all Canadian women have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16 and every year in Canada, up to 360,000 children are exposed to domestic violence. 58,486 women and 36,840 children sought refuge in one of 473 shelters across Canada between April 1, 2003 and March 31, 2004.
Haven House, a transitional house in Nanaimo for women fleeing abuse, sees 400-500 women annually, with another 2,000 women and children in programs offered by the society. The organization has launched a capital building campaign to raise $1 million toward the construction of a new community services building. (more…)
Peter McGee has been traveling across B.C. and North America, training and presenting about how the program can engage youth in the digital age
Crime Stoppers began in 1976 when a detective in New Mexico appealed to the public with a video re-enactment of a murder crime and offered a reward for anonymous tips. Two men were arrested within 72 hours and charged with the murder. Since that time, Crime Stoppers has become a global phenomenon and is credited by its originator, former detective Greg MacAleese, with solving over one million major crimes. (more…)
An upcoming performance of Canadian playwright George F. Walker’s “Criminal Genius” will be accompanied by an interactive panel discussion involving at-risk youth and members of local service organizations
ACTing on Social Accessibility: A Community Forum will be presented on May 5, at Theatre BC’s Nanaimo Centre Stage. The event is a partnership between Vancouver Island University, the Theatre Department’s Satyr Players Club, and Theatre BC.
Jeremy Banks, the event coordinator (and director of the play) joins us, along with the cast of “Criminal Genius”—Bryce Hughes, Kieran Hunt, Katje Van Loon, Jvana Wotypka, and Tom Mairs—to discuss the play, the panel, and the goals for the community forum. The cast performs a scene from the play. (more…)
Sacred Bentwood Box used at national events of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Ladysmith artist Luke Marston has created a symbol of truth and healing—a sacred Bentwood Box to be used at the seven national events of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The Commission was created to help individuals, communities, and organizations alike to move beyond the dreadful damage inflicted by the many abuses at Canada’s Indian Residential Schools between 1920 and the 1970s. The Catholic Church operated roughly three-quarters of the residential schools that operated in Canada. The rest were operated by other organized religious groups. (more…)
