Correctional
Services | New Frontiers Halfway House
Our
concept agrees with The
Salvation Army founder William
Booth who believed in "Soup, Soap, then Salvation."
The total person must be reached, at the moral, physical, psychological,
social and spiritual level. Therefore all the programming we
offer is aimed at the total person. The ends for which we strive
are for the clients to develop an individual program aimed at
their own reintegration into the community. We believe that
only when the effort comes from the individual, rather than
us, will his reintegration efforts be effective over the long
term.
A halfway
house is a community based residential facility for offenders
who, having been sentenced to a term of incarceration, are serving
a portion of their sentence under supervision in the community.
Halfway
houses provide twenty-four hour supervision and general counselling
and assistance to offenders. Some halfway houses may also offer
treatment or other programming. Typically, offenders live in
halfway houses while they work, find a job, go to school or
attend treatment or other programming.
Halfway
houses are on a continuum of correctional services that are
provided to offenders during their term of incarceration. The
halfway house experience is a form of gradual release into the
community while the offender is still under a prison sentence.
Halfway houses create an important bridge between institutional
care and the community. They provide needed rehabilitative and
residential services and they provide an opportunity for unique
and innovative programming that is tailored to the needs of
residents and the community.
Research
has shown that halfway houses do not contribute to increased
crime rates or to decreased property values. The vast majority
of offenders who re-enter the community through a halfway house
successfully complete their stays. Further, recidivism rates
are low for offenders who have been gradually released into
the community.
New Frontiers
is a non-profit halfway house accredited with The Salvation
Army and the Correctional
Services of Canada, offering services to adult male offenders
on early release or parole. In conjunction with the Parole Board,
probation, etc., we provide supervision and support for offenders
in preparation for their entry into community living. Over the
last year, we have had between 10 and 16 men residing here.
Admission
Criteria:
Our
New Frontiers Halfway House accepts adult males with or without
chemical dependency issues so long as they are motivated to
change. Applicants must be prepared to live within the rules
and regulations of our Centre.
There
is also a service element to living in our halfway house which
consists of doing house chores, serving at the Sunday evening
soup line and attending programming in the community to address
outstanding issues when necessary.
Counselling
for many issues is available to all clients on a one-to-one
basis. Lifestyle change sessions are conducted on a one to one
basis or group sessions when required.
Our
Role:
Our role
in working with offenders is to help them reintegrate into society
in as easy a manner as possible. To aid us in this task we use
a structured form of release which is designed to ease offenders
back into the community instead of their just being left on
their own to fend for themselves at their release date.
Length
of Time Offenders Can Live With Us:
We have
had men live at this Centre for more than 5-years, but we also
provide short term accommodations as well. We offer Parole the
ability to bring offenders in to the Centre who they believe
are not doing well on the street. Something is going wrong and
they need to re-stabilize them before things deteriorate to
the point where the offender has to be sent back to prison.
We offer this service because we believe that any one can fail
at following through with their release plans, and that those
who are honestly trying in their attempts at change should be
given at least one more opportunity to correct their problems.
Types
of Housing Available:
- Short
Term Residency: one day – three months.
-
Long Term Residency: three months to more than two years.
- Transitional
Housing: is available to Parolees to accommodate their
locating housing of his own.
-
Halfway Back Housing: as an alternative to suspension.
Programming
Currently Available:
The following
Programming is available upon Request. They are conducted on
an IN or OUTPATIENT basis through one to one appointments.
- 12-Step
Recovery (A Spiritual Journey)
- Life
Management – Overall Recovery Material
- The
Con Game – Freedom from Playing the Game
- Values
for Responsible Living – Developing New Values
- Thinking
Errors – the Dynamics of Change
- Breaking
Free – Thinking Outside The Box
- Change
Plan – Stages of Change
- Budgeting
- NA
Meetings
- Community
Reintegration
- Gambling
Addiction Counselling
Resources
available at the Salvation Army Community Centre
- Located
near downtown Saskatoon,
near local
and STC bus service,
CSC Program facilities, YMCA
(with access to the gym), parks,
shopping and public
libraries.
- Private
rooms are offered and include bed, linens, dresser, nightstand,
clock radio, fan, and closet.
- Common
lounge area for New Frontiers' residents has a refrigerator,
microwave, coffee maker, cable
TV, telephone, VCR/DVD and daily
newspaper.
- No
charge laundry facility (detergent is available).
- Common
washroom and shower facilities.
-
Nutritious meals
are prepared and served three times daily.
- Lunch
bags are also available for those residents that work off
site.
- Air
conditioning
- Refinished
rooms
New
Frontiers Services
- Personnel
on site 24 hours a day
- Assistance
in a community setting with various programs to assist in
integration
- Medication
administration and monitoring
- Access
to Recovery programs (AA; NA) and Positive Lifestyle workshops
(goal setting; self esteem; loneliness; budgeting; etc.)
-
Clothing
provided as necessary
- Referrals
- physician, optometrist, dental, psychologist
- General
counseling and referral services
- Pastoral
Care
-
Chapel
(attendance not mandatory)
- Assistance
with financial
management
How
Do Offenders Apply to Stay at the Salvation Army Community Centre?
The first
thing they need is to apply through their institutional Parole
Officer for community assesment. If currently incarcerated to
contact the parole office in Saskatoon and inform them that
they have a man who wants to come to The Salvation Army in Saskatoon
on whatever form of parole they qualify for.
Parole
will contact us advising of offenders wishes to reside in the
New Frontears unit. We will exanine what the offender has done
whith his time while incarcerated (Program and behaviour-wise)
and the Client Review Board based on the base a decision on
what we find.
A letter
will be generated to the Parole Officer making the community
assesment request and a copy of that letter will be sent to
the individual as well. This keeps everyone in the know as to
what has happened as a result of the application.
Our first
duty is the safety of our community. We want to help offenders
reintegrate, but in making decision as to who we will extend
our services to the safety of the community is our first priority.
Again, our role in working with Parole is to help the men with
their reintegration. We do not reject a man based on the crime
he has committed.
Referrals
Residents
of the halfway house come through the Correctional
Services of Canada and Saskatchewan
Justice.
When
necessary we make referrals to other professionals in the community.
Pastoral
Care and Spiritual Support are available to all Clients. We
a coffeehouse
Friday evenings as well as chapel
services Sunday mornings & evenings. Attendance at these
services IS NOT MANDATORY. They are, however, open to all residents
of this Centre and the community. Weekly support meetings, NA
in house meetings. Pastoral
counseling is available on a daily basis.
