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Quebec Region
Community Relapse Prevention and Maintenance Program
By Brigitte Blanchard, Program Officer, Montréal-Metropolitan District
Certificate recipients and CSC staff members
Five of the seven certificate recipients with staff from the maison Thérèse-Casgrain
Seven women on conditional release at the Thérèse-Casgrain Community Residentail Facility (CRC) received recognition certificates from Anne Kelly, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Women, for successfully completing 20 sessions of the new Community Relapse Prevention and Maintenance Program. In total, more than 30 participants attended the ceremony.
This innovative program, offered on a weekly basis, was designed to meet the needs and reflect the situation of federal and provincial women offenders. It is an extension of the awareness program offered to all female inmates in the institution and of the intensive module for women with substance abuse problems. It combines the goals of both a generic maintenance program and a relapse prevention program.
It also should be noted that the program targets a wide range of problematic behaviours by teaching problem-solving, assertive communication and emotion management skills.
In short, the program's main objective is to reduce criminal recidivism by addressing criminogenic factors and help women under supervision to successfully reintegrate into society.
Owing to a partnership between the Montreal-Metropolitan District and the Société élizabeth Fry du Québec, this program has been offered since February 2004 in both official languages at the halfway house. Implementation is on the right track - since February 2004 both federally and provincially sentenced women offenders have been referred to the program. To date, seven of them have completed it successfully.
To mark this event, a community gathering was organized, bringing together CRC residents, program participants and their families, local, regional and national representatives from the Correctional Service of Canada's Women's Offender Sector and the clinical team at the Maison Thérèse-Casgrain. The Deputy Commissioner's presence was greatly appreciated.
One participant took the opportunity to express her appreciation as follows: "Not only did I learn a lot about myself in the program, I also acquired concrete tools to better solve my problems, assert myself and prevent a potential relapse."
The presentation ceremony not only recognized positive achievements, but also it was an opportunity to increase participation, strengthen social values, and develop a sense of belonging to the community.
