THUNDER BAY - More women are being released from custody due to COVID-19 and while the pandemic is presenting some challenges to an organization assisting women in the criminal justice system, it is hopeful that this unprecedented situation will result in a wakeup call.
According to Caycie Soke, Elizabeth Fry Society Northwestern Ontario board president, over the last few months since COVID-19 began, they have been seeing more women released from the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre than previous months.
“We are seeing a couple women per week getting released that we are actively working with to find them a place to go," she said.
Monday marked the start of Elizabeth Fry Week and while there will be no in-person events this year, the society is continuing to create awareness online about ending the stigma facing women in the criminal justice system and assisting those in returning to a normal life and reducing the likelihood of reoffending.
“The goal of our organization is to help women successfully reintegrate and that the women we are working with don’t end up in jail again and they are back in their community with their families and loved ones and doing well,” Soke said.
The Elizabeth Fry Society and the Release From Custody working group has been involved in the safe and successful release of numerous women from custody in the last several weeks as part of COVID community response planning.
But Soke said the COVID-19 pandemic has presented some challenges, especially around finding women appropriate accommodation after being released.
“Our coordinator is still working closely with women, but there is a lot of challenges with where can they go,” Soke said. “The shelters are full. There has been some coordination at the municipal level as far as renting rooms at hotels to make sure they are safe.”
The Elizabeth Fry Society of Northwestern Ontario received a grant of $3,750 from the Thunder Bay Community Foundation and the United Way of Thunder Bay that is being used to pay for discharge packages for women containing needed items such as toiletries upon their release, transportation, and hotel rooms.
“We are seeing the community really rallying together in this beautiful way where people are making sure our most vulnerable people are being supported,” Soke said. “As much as there are practical difficulties, the community is really rallying to address those in a way that is very promising.”
Soke added that everyone is facing challenges during this pandemic, but it is often the most vulnerable people who struggle the most.
“A lot of the people in the Correctional Centre who are criminalized, there are a lot of other factors, there is systemic discrimination, sexism, racism, poverty, so I think it’s important to highlight that these are people with families and loved ones and communities and they are not just prisoners,” she said.
Normally there are between 30 and 40 women incarcerated in the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre at any given time, and the numbers are up again as of Monday, but with the facility meant to house 28 women, Soke said she hopes the justice system will take note and reevaluate the necessity of incarcerating certain people.
“I’m hoping its wakeup call for the justice system generally and the necessity of incarceration, when it’s necessary and when it isn’t,” she said.
“I’m hoping this will let us reset and think about if this person really needs to be incarcerated or are we just doing this because we’ve always done it that way. I have a lot of hope that it will remain the way it is.”
For more information on Elizabeth Fry Week visit the Elizabeth Fry Society of Northwestern Ontario website.
