Thursday October 25, 2018
By Andrea Huncar
The Alberta Somali Community Centre says nearly half of their 49 clients have not re-offended
Dunia Nur, Ayan Omar and Maymuno Warsame hope government officials will see the benefit of the Step Up program and provide financial support. (CBC/Peter Evans)
Ayan Omar's eyes fill with tears as she discusses the possible
closure of an Edmonton program that has given her son a second chance
after eight months in jail.
Since 2014, the Step Up program
has supported dozens of young incarcerated men and their families
during their sentence and after their release.
But organizers from Alberta Somali Community Centre (ASCC) warn the project could soon be shut down without government funding."I
just feel sad for the fact that families are going through what I have
been going through," said Omar, who spoke through an interpreter. "I'm
worried … that they are not going to be able to receive the services
they need."
Since
2014, ASCC has assisted 49 clients by supporting them in jail and
through the court process, as well as rehabilitation once they're
released. Twenty-two have not re-offended.
The group estimates
their program could run on $200,000 annually. The cost of housing a
single inmate is about $52,650 per year, in addition to legal and health
expenses.
The Step Up program connects clients to lawyers, while
ASCC staff often assist with bail plans. After their release, the men
are connected to training, employment and housing, as well as services
for addictions and mental health.
According to Habiba Abdulle, ASCC executive director, those
supports go a long way to ensuring her clients don't go back to jail.
Habiba Abdulle says the Step Up program helps prevent clients from re-offending. (CBC News)
Abdulle
said serious offenders should not get off lightly but many clients who
struggle with mental health and addictions end up behind bars for
misdemeanours. And they often return to jail for breaching conditions
that can be difficult to uphold, she said.
"For example, a
homeless guy might have a condition to be home by 8 p.m.," said Abdulle.
"Well, where's home when you're on the streets?"
She has
responded to emergencies in the middle of the night, such as finding
someone a place to stay or removing them from a situation that could
send them back to jail.
Participants are accepted into Step Up only after demonstrating their willingness to change and take responsibility.
"They have to report to us, we have to see how they're doing in terms of employment," said Dunia Nur, ASCC program manager.
Each
day around supper time her phone buzzes with calls from anxious inmates
at the Edmonton Remand Centre, asking if Step Up is being shut
down. Nur also worries about whether 59 men on a waiting list will
receive support.
"We're afraid of how they might be left alone without supports,
and the circle of being institutionalized, chronically accessing the
system, and not figuring out what to do," said Nur.
Until
now, the program has been financed through community fundraisers and
resources from other programs, forcing Nur and Abdulle to work long
hours, often as volunteers. The organization has applied for grant money
through Public Safety Canada. So far, requests for provincial funding
have been unsuccessful.
Omar recalled her struggle to navigate the health and justice
systems when her 22-year-old son first went to jail in 2016. But the
Step-Up program helped her access legal information and her son, who was
born in a refugee camp, was finally assessed and treated for mental
illness.
"Because of the support he received, he has stayed out of
trouble," said Omar. "And he is now planning to go back to school and
planning for his future."
Nur said the project has also reduced
stigma around incarceration and mental illness within her community, and
started a much-needed conversation about the trauma of pre-migration,
systemic racism and incarceration.
Part of that discussion takes place each Saturday among 15
mothers whose children are at risk. They meet in a support circle called
Hooyas, which means "mother" in Somali.
Group member Maymuno
Warsame said the program encouraged the women to open up about their
emotions — a traditionally taboo topic they now realize is essential to
their well-being.
"Every Saturday when we come together, we cry,"
said Warsame. "Because one of the mothers will just ask one question and
she ends up talking about all the things that she went through which
nobody knows."
She said some youths have ended up with criminal records
because they didn't have proper legal representation. But through Step
Up, the mothers are educating themselves so they can advocate for their
families and support Abdulle and Nur in their work.
"We have two
ladies, just two ladies running around night and day to help and support
(us)," said Warsame. "These mothers, they also want to help."
Alberta
Justice told CBC that officials would be willing to meet with ASCC to
discuss funding opportunities. Public Service Canada said the ASCC will
learn in December if its grant application is successful.