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Thérèse-Casgrain Halfway House
A Pillar of the Community

BY Djamila Amellal, Communications Officer, Communications and Citizen Engagement Sector

Photos: Djamila Amellal

It stands in the heart of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, a residential sector north of Sherbrooke and east of Décarie in Montréal, in a well-established neighbourhood where artists and intellectuals, anglophones and francophones mingle and coexist, a parish that is open and sensitive to social conditions. Standing tall and proud, and never losing sight of its objective — the successful reintegration of women offenders into the community — is the Thérèse-Casgrain Halfway House.

“The Thérèse-Casgrain Halfway House (TCHH) was the very first community project of the Société Elizabeth Fry du Québec (SEFQ), an agency established in 1977,” says Ruth Gagnon, Executive Director of the SEFQ. “TCHH opened its doors in 1980, which makes it the oldest halfway house for women in Quebec. Its mandate is to promote the reintegration of women in conflict with the law. We therefore work very closely with the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), Quebec Correctional Services, and the community.”

A Highly Stimulating Environment

TCHH — so named to mark the contribution of Thérèse Casgrain, former chair of the Human Rights League, who strove to promote the rights of women and the marginalized members of society — offers an ideal environment for the successful reintegration of female offenders. The two wings of the building house the headquarters of the SEFQ and the living quarters for offenders: 32 beds in total, plus a large kitchen and reception rooms. TCHH is, thus, an incalculable asset for both offenders and the community at large. It is open around the clock and accommodates women aged 18 to 80, with a full-time staff of 15.

“Most of our clientele comes to us from Joliette Institution and Tanguay Prison, and we are currently caring for some 32 offenders,” Ms. Gagnon notes. “In the case of federal offenders, we have service agreements with CSC. I sincerely believe that their surroundings have a great impact on people’s motivation, and this house offers an excellent means of reintegration for women. When they get out of prison this house is a starting point for them. With ready access to the Métro, for example, they are close to urban life without being overexposed to it. They are sheltered and protected in a neighbourhood like this.”

Building Awareness for the Cause

Needless to say, a project like this prompted lively reactions and some apprehension among local residents, who saw their safe, quiet world being disturbed by the presence of offenders. Accordingly, in conjunction with CSC, SEFQ staff quickly set to work to raise awareness by organizing a variety of activities, including a public meeting to provide information and a forum for the residents to talk about their fears.

“It was a mountain we had to climb, and the first year we kept open house,” says Ms. Gagnon, with a measure of pride. “We met the neighbours. We raised their awareness, we made them feel safe, and we eventually developed good relations with them. Now we’re part of the scenery.”

Christine Champagne, the current clinical director, adds: “We had to prepare our residents for this; they were given clear and strict instructions. Discretion is always the watchword.”

Partners in the Solution

TCHH does outstanding work with offenders, and it does so in close cooperation with staff at CSC, the Ville Marie Area Parole Office, the Outremont police station and the community network. “For us, everything begins with a call from a caseworker at Joliette Institution inquiring about bed space at TCHH for an offender whose parole date is coming up,” says Ms.Champagne. “We generally take anyone, except cases of extreme violence and arsonists. Our residents learn to cook and clean, and they learn respect for their neighbours. They go out, alone or with volunteer accompaniment depending on their degree of autonomy.”

Programs That Build Bridges with the Community

TCHH takes an average of 40 offenders a year from Joliette Institution of varying status — day parole, statutory release, temporary accommodation. They stay for up to eight months.

Close cooperation between TCHH and Joliette takes many forms. Various programs are offered, both inside and outside the institution.

Community Integration and Temps d’arrêt Programs

“Six months before the expected date of release into the community on parole, or with the accelerated parole review procedure where the date is always preset,” says Amélie Bordeleau, Coordinator of Custodial Programs, “I go to the institution as required by the Community Integration Program. I meet with offenders, I set up groups of five or six of them who can work well together. I use their needs as my baseline, and we talk about parole, suspension and the halfway house to help prepare them for release. We hold eight group sessions and close the program with a one-on-one interview.”

She adds: “I also facilitate the Temps d’arrêt program, which is designed especially for offenders who have experienced a failure following release. The program involves meeting with them in the days following their return to the institution and letting them vent about their re-incarceration. I also prepare them for the post-suspension hearing. It really means calling a time-out and thinking about what went wrong.”

The LifeLine Program

This popular program helps offenders serving life sentences. “We are an agency funded by CSC, the National Parole Board (NPB) and community agencies,” says Daniel Benson, an Inreach worker and a former inmate. “In Quebec, it is the Société Saint-Léonard that manages the agreement with CSC. The biggest part of my job is listening. I understand women offenders because I’ve been there. I really believe you have to get them out of their personal prison before you let them out of the institution, and the way to do it is to listen to them. We monitor offenders from the institution into the community. I move around the penitentiary, and they can reach me on my cellphone, day or night. Sometimes, one call is enough to calm things down.”

Legal Services

Marie France Laforce, a trained lawyer, is the other SEFQ member who acts as legal advisor to women offenders. She provides support by travelling when needed to Joliette Institution or TCHH. “I don’t take the place of the assigned defence attorney, but I try to help by providing a communication link, by debunking a good many myths about the criminal justice system, and by helping with taxes, housing and children. They trust me because I’m not a member of staff. Some of them are convinced they will have problems if they talk. I like my work because when a woman does manage to reach out, it gives me a warm feeling,” she says, and you can hear the passion in her voice.

The Maman me raconte Project

It is based on an American program designed to promote and preserve a closer relationship between children and their incarcerated mothers. Ruth Gagnon and Christine Champagne are working together with the Elizabeth Fry Society of St. John, New Brunswick, which initiated the project in Canada, to make the project a reality. Mothers record bedtime stories on cassettes, which are played back to their children. It’s a way for the two to keep in touch. It offers the child security, reduces loneliness and paves the way for the eventual reunion. According to the St. John experience, this project contributes to children performing much better in school. “We are trying to make this work with the help of volunteers who will go to the institution with cassette recorders, batteries and earphones and work with jailed mothers. A splendid project,” says Ms. Champagne.

Dedicated Experts

The outstanding quality of the work TCHH does both in the institution and in the community is due to the skill, dedication and passion that SEFQ and CSC staff bring to their work.

The clinical team at TCHH consists of four counsellors and the director, who share a passionate commitment. Each counsellor has a caseload of seven to nine offenders. “When they get here, they already have a correctional plan,” says counsellor Anne Marie Côté. “We assess their needs and start getting them ready to leave from the moment they arrive. What we do is determined by their status and the length of stay. Our casework is highly individual. She adds: “We provide a supportive, caring presence. One day we are just a shoulder to cry on, the next we will lead a discussion group. When they leave TCHH, they have the tools. The halfway house is vital because it brings us close to our residents.”

Three parole officers (POs) are responsible for supervision in the community. Carole Lemieux, an experienced PO who has been with CSC since 1979, says: “We are first of all friends and confidants, and that is what makes working with women offenders enjoyable.” Since TCHH is in the western sector of Montréal, it is the Ville Marie Area Parole Office, to which it is attached, that arranges for offenders from the institution to be accepted at TCHH.

Carole’s colleague, Renée Bray, adds that since 2002 they have run a special supervision program. Just before the release date, Ms. Champagne and a PO will go to the institution to talk to an offender before she is paroled. In many cases, the PO will be working with an offender she already knows from having worked with her at the beginning of her sentence. We continue working with them afterwards, wherever they go in the community.” Carole Lemieux finds that what makes working with TCHH so satisfying is the support of the clinical caseworkers and their feedback on the offenders’ behaviour. “It’s great. TCHH is vital to our work,” she says, and her expression conveys the depth of gratitude she feels.

The Volunteer Network — Getting the Community Involved

TCHH started working with CSC two years ago to strengthen ties with the community in the Montréal area, at the request of Denis Méthé, Director of the Metropolitan Montréal District at the time. “We have about eight volunteers,” says Sofia Nastasa, the program coordinator. The volunteers accompany offenders though the system, particularly those who are very dependent or have special needs due to their age or mental health. They are twinned with a volunteer to help them get used to life in society again. Volunteering offers another way of getting the community involved in the CSC’s reintegration mission. One such volunteer, André Morneau, has been trained to accompany offenders travelling by bus. “It’s not difficult, and I enjoy it,” he says.

Celebrating a Reunion in a Flourishing Garden

The executive director concluded by announcing, with great pride, that August 2005 is the date for a grand reunion of TCHH women: “This year we shall be celebrating our 25th anniversary, and the theme for the celebration will be one of reunion. In 25 years, at an average of 80 to 100 clients a year, nearly 2,000 women and a good many children have passed this way. I am proud of what we accomplish together, with the CSC and the community.” ♦