The three institutions we visit are the Saint John Regional Correctional Centre, Madawaska Regional Correctional Centre, and Nova Institute for Women.

To be sentenced to a provincial jail, your sentence must be two years less a day.  Anyone who is sentenced to more than two years will do their time in a federal institution.

The Saint John Regional Correctional Centre is located on the East Side of Saint John on Old Black River Road.  It is a facility that holds men and women who are provincially sentenced.

Madawaska is located in St. Hilaire, New Brunswick for men and women who are sentenced provincially.

Nova Institute for Women is a federal prison for women located in Truro, Nova Scotia.  It is for women who are sentenced to more than two years.

Nova Institution

Regular Visits- Once a month, E. Fry Saint John takes turns with the other E. Fry chapters in the Atlantic Region in making a weekly visit to the federally sentenced women.

Read Aloud Program- E. Fry volunteers from Saint John give up a weekend to travel to Nova frequently to conduct the Mother/Child Read Aloud Program.  Many women participate and books are mailed to children across Canada.

THAT’S ME

Did you ever wonder why life treats you bad?That’s me.
Did you ever long for a hug and never get one? That’s me.
Did you ever feel love is a long way off? That’s me.
Did you ever wish mental illness to be abolished? That’s me.
Did you ever feel so alone and empty that it hurts? That’s me.
Did you ever feel like no one cares? That’s me.
Did you ever feel crime is a way out?That’s me.
Did you ever hurt someone you care about unintentionally? That’s me
Did you ever inflict pain or hurt yourself to numb the pain? That’s me.
These may be all true but they can change after all I am only human. I am me and I am proud of it and I want to change. I believe in myself and one day at a time I will do these things. And all I have to do is believe in myself and I do.
~ By Lisa

Many of the women wanted to share their feelings with us.

“A lot of women released into society have no where to go.  I think we all need a plan.  We have no choices to make in here.  So we have to make choices on the outside and most are not good at it.  They need to have a pre-plan as to where a person can go.”

“I feel there should be more drug help.  If you get house arrest you should have to do programs.”

“If you need Methadone you have to wait about two years!  Detox is a long wait also.  I feel for people whom are homeless and have a drug problem.  There is not a lot of hope for them.  There is not enough to help with these situations.”

“I need money for a place to live.  I need food to survive, a drive home and clothes.  I need friends who don’t do drugs!  I need pretty much everything!”

“I like the Elizabeth Fry because there good for the women in here, they really care for the women in here and that’s the only program I ever come to, is just for them.”

“For 7 ½ years I was sexually, mentally and physically abused and I stayed because I was scared to leave.”

“A place for women [to go] who are down, they need to know they are worth it, they need to be treated respectfully, just because they are working the street, they need to know they are loved.”

“I just don’t know where to start.  I’m scared.”

“It takes forever with Methadone and it stresses you more and you just want to give up and rob anyone and just keep using ‘til you die and nothing matters at the time.”

“I can’t fight my addiction.  I’m scared to leave jail.  I want 21 days in a treatment facility when I leave here.  I don’t’ want to die.  I’m powerless.”

To get the full report, click here (pdf file).

The Elizabeth Fry Society offers the following at the SJRCC:

• Mother/Child Read Aloud, One-on-One Mentoring, Bingo, Crafts, Mother’s Day Project, Christmas Project, Educational Programming with guest speakers, Pet Therapy, family contacts, Outreach support while incarcerated and in the community upon release.

• The Elizabeth Fry Society offers the following at Nova Institution for Women:

• Mother/Child Read Aloud, One-on-One Mentoring, Pre-Release Planning, Outreach support while incarcerated and in the community upon release, and Family Liaison Support.

Some additional things we do for both the SJRCC & Nova include:

• Family contacts, contact with lawyers, mental health, housing, Social Development, community agencies, etc.

• Assistance with finding housing upon release.

• Provision of information, forms, assistance filing forms and grievances;

• A listening ear.

Client Profile

Three times a week volunteers meet with women at the Saint John Regional Correctional Centre.  Through the relationship we have established with them, they have opened up to us regarding many issues.  On several occasions, members and volunteers of E. Fry Saint John have had focus groups to discuss with the women issues they are currently having regarding mental health, addictions, general health, past history, family issues, etc. 

Most recently, we met with the women to discuss their addictions and mental health.  Of the twelve women in the focus group, eleven of them struggled with addictions prior to incarceration.

Of the twelve women, five had been involved in prostitution in their lifetime. The reasons varied why the women became involved in prostitution including money to buy drugs (3), money to pay for Methadone (2), and for family or personal needs (1).

One direction the women took the focus group to, was their past, including their childhood.  Of the twelve women participants, seven had youth records.  Three of them spent time incarcerated at a youth facility ranging in length from one month to four years.
Of the twelve women six resided in foster/group homes at one point during their youth.  Five of the women came from a family where the parents were divorced.  None of the twelve women had graduated from high school; however, one woman had obtained her G.E.D. and furthered her education at a post-secondary institution. 

You can help these women in a number of ways.

• Write to your MP’s demanding change for the treatment of women.
• Demand changes in the correctional system.
• Demand that a long-term residential treatment cent be established.

Other ways in which you may help:

• Volunteer with E. Fry at the SJRCC for one of our many programs.
• Make a financial donation to E. Fry so they can keep fighting for these women.
• Make a donation of personal hygiene items (shampoo, conditioner, body wash, female hygienic items, etc).
• Make a donation of snacks & water to be taken to the SJRCC.