Articles & News

June 27, 2008

MAPping the way to a crime-free life

MAP program supports those released from the “inside”

by Ruby Pratka, http://www.charlatan.ca

The Ottawa-Carleton Regional Detention Centre, as one might expect, is not a cozy place.

"It's all metal and concrete. It's very sterile. Every ten feet there's a door that closes. You can't walk freely without meeting a checkpoint," says Allison, a MAP volunteer who did not want her last name used for privacy reasons. "Once you're in, you're in."

MAP is Mentorship-Aftercare-Presence, an Ottawa organization dedicated to helping ex-offenders reintegrate into the Ottawa community.

Once an offender is out of prison, says Allison, they're often left out in the cold.

"It's not uncommon to see someone outside of the detention centre on Innes Road with just the shirt on their back and a brown paper bag, looking for a ride. That's not much support," she says. "When you release someone into normal society, they're expected to just figure it out."

What happens when a person gets out? That's where MAP comes in, says Allison.

MAP was started in 2001 when an Ottawa deacon, the late Bing Gallant, "saw people exiting prison and going back in, and thought there was something to be done to get the community involved," says MAP director Rev. Fritz Clarke.

Ex-offenders leaving prison who express interest in the program are screened and, in many cases, accepted, explains Clarke.

The ex-offender participants, referred to as "focal members," are then teamed with groups of volunteers from all walks of life, who aim to support them as they search for housing and employment.

The program involves "a lot of talking and listening," Clarke says. Focal members meet with volunteers on a weekly basis, sometimes continuing for as long as a few years.

MAP's method of community involvement, says Clarke, "takes people from the community who are interested in being mentors, and teaches them how to listen, suspend judgment, and model a new way of life" for focal members.

Allison says volunteers must keep an open mind and remember that although the program is faith-based, no faith is imposed. As part of the training, Allison recalls, an ex-offender speaks to the volunteers.
"When you actually meet someone is when a lot of people decide whether they are in it," she says. "It's OK to say no."

Once volunteers have completed a background check and training, they are assigned to be part of a team with a focal member.

"The program aims to have the people that we mentor fully integrate into society and leave their prison past behind," says Allison.

Craig, a MAP volunteer who also did not want his last name used for privacy reasons, says he knows, first-hand, the challenges of the reintegration process.

Convicted of second-degree murder, he says he served 20 years behind bars and left prison committed to turning his life around.

As a MAP volunteer, he now speaks to people leaving prison and at-risk high school students.

"For every year you're in, it takes three years to get it out of you," he says.

He refers to Millhaven Penitentiary, where he served his time, only as "inside."

"Once you go inside, there is a different social structure," he says. "There is an internal language. You keep your eyes open and your mouth shut, and you learn to function in that society. When one is released, you can't just shut [it] off."

Craig says his search for employment, housing and work was difficult.

"I had to lie to get a job. After six months I told my boss, and he accepted [me]," Craig says. "It doesn't line up. That's why so many people go back."

Craig says when he left prison he was in need of mentoring.

"It was a rocky road, leaving jail with the stigma of being a murderer," he says. "MAP provided a restart at life rather than being released with a,

'Hope you make it pal,' attitude."

Clarke says the program has helped as many as 400 ex-offenders in the Ottawa area and is hoping to expand into other cities if sufficient funding is available.

"It's working for us, but we need to do a bit more raising awareness," he says. "People now about this problem. They just don't want to hear it."

Allison says MAP provides a valuable service to society, even though she acknowledges it is "not going to compete with the Children's Wish Foundation as favorite charity."