Board Of Directors 2001/2002

Officers

President	Cori Kalinowski
Vice President	Elizabeth Boyd*
Chair Person	Sue Nador
Treasurer	Sheena Kotecha

Directors

Avil Beckford	Denise Jeffers*
Jill Copeland	Raiza Kolia*
Kim Crozier*	Shoshana Pollack
Jaki Freeman	Emily Reed

Staff 2001/2002

Executive Director	Leslie Kelman
Financial Administrator	Elly Vlietman
Office Manager	Camella Jones-Phillip
Receptionist	Nancy Pimentel
Community Programs Manager	Martha Arbuthnot
Parenting Program Counsellors	Alma Aiken
	Sherrette Thomas
Drug and Alcohol Counsellor	Laurie Charlton
Sexual Abuse Counsellor	Elizabeth Amerongen
Shoplifting /Fraud Counsellor	Gillian Crawford
Diversion Courtworker (College Park Court)	Eugenia Messner
Volunteer Programs Coordinator	Marsha RayDragan
Residential Supervisor	Nzinga Walker
Residential Asst. Supervisor	Andrea Slack
Residential Counsellors	Margaret Arnason
	Dorrette Barnes
	Tegeste Emiru
	Lyn Genereux*
	Maryam Salad
	Julianne Smith
Coordinator of Community Relations and Fundraising	Nancy Webb
Director of Development	Jonathan Rudin/Barbara Yip

* resigned during the year

History and Mission
The Elizabeth Fry Society of Toronto is a woman-centred, non-profit organization that represents and fosters the community's interest in and responsibility to women who are, have been, or may come into conflict with the law. Founded in the early 1950s, the Elizabeth Fry Society of Toronto was named after the nineteenth century English reformer of the penal system whose work among the women and children of Newgate prison began a long tradition of addressing the special needs of incarcerated women.

The agency offers transitional accommodation, counselling services, a court program at College Park Court, and facilities for research and education. Our volunteers and staff regularly visit the Metro West Detention Centre, Vanier Centre for Women and Grand Valley Institute.

Our mission is to facilitate the empowerment of women and to address the reasons why women come into conflict with the law by:

• facilitating choices and opportunities for individual women;
• affecting systemic change of social conditions, laws and structures;
• promoting a system of justice that leads to the healing of society and responds to the needs of all women involved in and affected by crime;
• ensuring that in all its operations, the Elizabeth Fry Society of Toronto embraces the diverse racial and cultural backgrounds of the people it represents and serves.

The Elizabeth Fry Society of Toronto is a member of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) and of the Council of Elizabeth Fry Societies of Ontario. There are currently 24 Elizabeth Fry Societies across Canada including nine in Ontario.

Executive Director's Report
As the individual department reports illustrate, this has been a very productive year for the Elizabeth Fry Society of Toronto. As we start our 50th year of service to women in the criminal justice system, we endeavour, as always, to provide the most needed and effective programs for women in conflict with the law, while still addressing the systemic issues of the criminal justice system.

Provincially, we have been struggling for almost a decade with the government's "Get Tough on Crime" ideology/strategy. Canada's first privatized, for profit prison is now operating in Penetanguishene, in spite of opposition from the local community, provincial corrections workers, and advocacy groups such as ourselves and the John Howard Society. Monitoring this institution may be a challenge as we have no right of access to a privatized facility and have to rely on the goodwill of the operators of the institution.

Additionally we wait for the women's unit at Maplehurst to open, thus closing the Vanier Centre for Women, the women's beds at the Metro West Detention Centre, and most local "lock-ups" for women. The ensuing changes will be substantial: transportation problems, video remands, a more restrictive environment, less staffing, less programming and a continuing lack of releases to the community, to name a few. Issues that continue to be a concern and require close monitoring are:

• a 1,200 bed "super jail" scheduled to open in Lindsay in the fall.
• the Youth Criminal Justice Act, coming into effect in Ontario in April, 2003.
• electronic monitoring, which is becoming a popular tool for supervision and an additional condition of release.

Although the Ministry of Corrections has been renamed the Ministry of Public Safety and Security under new minister Robert Runciman, its law and order agenda remains unchanged. The clock has effectively been turned back to a time when poverty was criminalized. Each cutback puts vulnerable, marginalized women at greater risk of coming into conflict with the law.

While the federal government appears to be adopting more progressive approaches to corrections in their regional institutions, there are some serious breaches of the philosophy of Creating Choices. A 15-bed maximum security unit is being built at Grand Valley Institute, creating more beds in the system, employing excessive security restrictions, compromising existing programs and diminishing the holistic ideology of Creating Choices.

We continue to negotiate for more unescorted temporary absence passes (U.T.A.), escorted temporary absence passes (E.T.A.), work releases, and employment opportunities. The need for community supports increases as social assistance services decreases. Women with special mental health needs have few releasing options, as do rural women and northern women.

The Elizabeth Fry Society of Toronto has a long history of providing community support and we strive to fill the ever growing gaps in services left by the government. This would be an insurmountable challenge without the work of our dedicated staff, Board and volunteers. I want to thank all of the people who have worked so tirelessly this year to ensure that women in conflict with the law have a place in our community.
Leslie Kelman, Executive Director

Community Programs Report
Community Programs provides group therapy, individual therapy and practical support to women residing in the community and within our residence. Our services are focussed in the following areas: Shoplifting and Fraud, Sexual and Ritual/Cult Abuse, Drugs and Alcohol, Parenting, Partner Intervention and Adult Diversion (for those with a first offense of theft or mischief under). We are pleased to report the following accomplishments:

• In January 2002 we received approval and funding from the Ministry of the Attorney General to provide the Partner Intervention Program to women who have been charged in domestic violence situations. A part-time worker has been hired and will provide group therapy to women referred from the Domestic Violence Courts and Probation Officers. This pilot project is off to a busy start and will run until March 2003.
• One of the Parenting Program staff and a past client were invited to participate on a panel at the Women and Criminal IN/Justice Symposium at York University. There was a significant impact on the attending sociology students as our past client, who is also a Mom, spoke about her experience of having been convicted of assaulting her child and as a result was incarcerated for a period of time.
• The Sexual Abuse/Ritual Cult Abuse Program has experienced an increase in clientele and in requests from other agencies to share our expertise. We have received very favorable reports from clients regarding their group experience and individual therapy, particularly from the women who have been abused in cults. We were fortunate to receive a Violence Prevention Grant for this program from the Canadian Women's Foundation.
• Within our Drug and Alcohol Program, group members from the Thelma and Louize Harm Reduction Group enjoyed a beautiful, warm and sunny day at Centre Island for their annual outing in August and were able to go on an educational trip to the Ontario Science Centre as well. Through the Health Canada Project, Reducing the Harm of Hep C, program participants continued to receive education and prevention materials focussed on Hepitatis C contraction and treatment.
• Our team provided field instruction to Social Work & Social Services students on practicum from the University of Toronto, Centennial College and Ryerson University.
• Community Programs staff have maintained community involvement in the following ways: presentation to members of the Unitarian Fellowship of Northwest Toronto; discussion of programs and issues about women in conflict with the law at workshop sponsored by Rittenhouse; joined the Women and Children's Subcommittee, a branch of the Toronto Drug Treatment Court Community Advisory Committee.

In the coming year we will work to obtain funding support for the Shoplifting and Fraud Program and focus on incorporating Program Effectiveness Organizational Development, as outlined by the United Way. This will enable us to clearly identify program effectiveness and success.
Martha Arbuthnot, Community Programs Manager

Residential Program Report
The Residential Program continues to thrive on the intergenerational, multiracial and multicultural aspect of its client base. While staff appreciate this unique learning opportunity, we are very much aware of the reality that brings some women into conflict with the law. We try very hard to implement a multi-model treatment approach, which includes working with the family and other service providers. The residential staff use a multidisciplinary treatment approach to support women's individual needs, while assisting and re-enforcing their correctional conditions. Needless to say this takes a certain amount of diplomacy, sensitivity, and caring, while maintaining a firm and consistent approach to counselling.

Each woman is an individual with her own story. Stories can be a very powerful tool that can evoke emotions that clients may find unbearable. Some of these stories are related to their charges, and other stories explain how they came into conflict with the law. The consistency in each woman's story points to her vulnerability throughout her life experiences. Most of our residents have experienced trauma such as sexual abuse, or have witnessed the death of someone close to them (sometimes it's their child). In addition, some have lost custody of their child/children, experienced mental illness and/or abused drugs or alcohol to escape their grief and pain. There are some women who actually welcome incarceration when they are fleeing an abusive relationship or are forced to work the streets in the sex trade industry.

The Residential team works continuously with the Women's Supervision Unit of Correctional Services Canada to improve and develop a more consistent, clinical, and structured Mother/Child Program. The aim is to create a federal program that provides support and supervision to mothers as well as assisting with connections to community resources. In the past year the Mother/Child Program housed a mother with two children after the primary caregiver could no longer provide care; a child that was born during the time she was with us in this program; and a mother who occasionally had care of her children on weekends.

At the end of our 2001-2002 fiscal year, the residence served 65 women through our Residential Program and saw an average of 40 women per month at the Grand Valley Institute in Kitchener, Ontario. While the Residence served only seven women on provincial parole, we continued to visit the Vanier Center for Women provincial prison on a weekly basis where staff saw an average of 40 women per month.

The Residential Program continues to benefit from the collaboration and support of Correctional Services Canada, the Ministry of Correctional Services, other community agencies and service providers, incarcerated women, family members, and our dedicated staff and volunteers. We look forward to everyone's continued support as we thrive to build a more effective and productive Residential Program.
Nzinga Walker, Residential Supervisor

Volunteer Programs Report
Last year the United Nations General Assembly declared 2001 International Year of Volunteers. At E. Fry we celebrated the year by honoring and celebrating the enormous contribution our volunteers make to our clients. We are keenly aware that without the support of our volunteers, many of our programs would not continue, and many clients would lose out on the programs they rely on and praise.

This realization is similar to the findings that were published by The Canadian Volunteerism Initiative in their report titled National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP) The survey revealed a significant drop in the volunteer rate and an increased reliance on a small core of "super" volunteers. Further it stated that "one million fewer Canadians volunteered in 2000 that in 1997, and only 7 percent of Canadians contributed 73 percent of volunteer effort in 2000".

When I examined our own statistics I also noted a decline in volunteering. During this fiscal year 50 volunteers (down from 84 last year) delivered volunteer service to our clients. Those volunteers provided approximately 2,698 hours (down from 4,034) to approximately 1,416 women. With this decline, we came to rely heavily on our own small core of "super" volunteers. Fortunately, we are still running the College Park Court program in which approximately 1,304 women were assisted. The 15 volunteers who supported that program worked an average of 960 volunteer hours.

It is unfortunate that the number of our volunteers has declined for the Metro West Detention Centre program, but fortunately that program is still running. At the Christmas party we held at Metro West, 12 volunteers assisted us in running that event smoothly. Approximately 200 incarcerated women received Christmas presents, musical entertainment, and an enjoyable afternoon. It is worth noting that the 12 volunteers who offer additional time to the success of this program, do this in addition to their regular on-going volunteer responsibilities. However, it is clear that reliance on those "super" volunteers when our numbers are low, can have detrimental effects on the programs they support, and eventual burnout of those volunteers.

The members of our Board who continue to offer their guidance and support experienced a slight decline in their numbers. During that year, our numbers varied anywhere from 9-15 board members, but they were still able to volunteer 260 hours of service. On an even more positive note, one of our long-standing volunteers who is part of the Metro West program has now been accepted onto the Board. I am certain that it will serve the Board well to have someone with frontline experience, offering their insight and expertise.

Although we are concerned about the decline in the number of volunteers, and the hours they have to offer our programs, we will always remain hopeful. In the fall we will be having our next training and orientation sessions for new volunteers. We anticipate a higher turn out for the orientation sessions, and a higher number of volunteers placed in our programs. Special emphasis will be placed on getting the Metro West program up and running to full capacity, and increasing the number of volunteers at College Park Court.

We continue to pay close attention to the events surrounding the opening of the women's unit at the Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton. It is hoped that any new volunteers placed will also be willing to help us support our social program at Maplehurst. We are aware that distance may make it difficult for them to do so, but we have learned to expect the unexpected from our volunteers.

The significance of the report by the NSGVP for our volunteer programs is to be wary of reliance on "super" volunteers, which can rarely be sustained. Further, as an agency, we must continue to offer support, guidance and recognition to our volunteers. They need to be thanked often and celebrated even more. Consider what the NSGVP report has to say on this issue. " In times of crisis, the contribution of volunteers is most evident. While we recognize and applaud the way Canadians come together at such times, we must not overlook the largely unseen efforts of volunteers whose life-long, day-to-day commitment to serving others has helped to shape our sense of who we are. Where would we be as a country without volunteers?"

It is hard to imagine where our clients would be without our volunteers. We continue to be grateful for their continued support and commitment.
Marsha RayDragan Co-ordinator of Volunteer Programs

Resource Development Report
Elsewhere in this report you will read about how the efforts of volunteers - whether serving on the Board of Directors or working directly with some of our programs - have made a huge difference in the work we do. Individuals also play a key role in the success of our fundraising with their unfailing and consistent generosity. While the Elizabeth Fry Society of Toronto receives significant funds from the United Way, federal and provincial government departments and agencies, and the City of Toronto, we also rely heavily on donations from individuals. These donations allow us to pilot new programs and address agency priorities that may not have immediate appeal to government funders.

Our fundraising program has five components, all of which are volunteer-driven: 1) direct mail, 2) special events, 3) bequests, 4) charitable gaming, and 5) foundations. Our direct mail program remains a source of great pride to the organization. Our core group of donors continues to unfailingly support our appeals. Each appeal targets a specific activity of the organization and funds from the direct mail go directly to that activity.

The highlight of our special events program is our annual Rebels for a Cause event in May. The Rebels we honoured this year - jazz artist & composer Jane Bunnett; lawyer, professor & activist Dianne Martin; poet, writer & thinker M. Nourbese Philip; and Order of Canada dermatologist & associate professor Dr. Ricky Schachter - fascinated their audience with tales of rebellion. Those who attended the event not only supported us by buying tickets, but by avidly participating in our silent auction.

We are always grateful for the bequests that we receive every year. We are particularly touched that people would remember the work of our agency in their wills by way of a bequest. While we can never plan on receiving bequests, every year we realize that our work has touched someone enough that they want to help the agency through a specific legacy.

Our charitable gaming activities are based around our participation in the Delta Bingo Hall at St. Clair and Weston Road. Although it would be stretching credulity to suggest that those who play bingo are consciously choosing to do so to support us, the sessions that we hold are run by conscientious volunteers whose work brings us needed funds.

While our volunteers do not sit on the boards of foundations that provide grants to the Elizabeth Fry Society, it is generally volunteers who make many of the funding decisions for these foundations. The funds we receive from this source indicate that our work is recognized by people who are faced with hundreds if not thousands of funding requests every year.

On behalf of the Board, staff, volunteers and clients of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Toronto, we would once again like to thank all of our donors for their generosity over the past year.
Barbara Yip/Jonathan Rudin
Director of Development

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