Project
Westcoast Genesis Society In-Reach/Outreach Program for Adult Males with FASD
Principal Investigator(s): Contact Andrew Boyd, Executive Director, Westcoast Genesis Society; phone: 604-517-2956; email: andrewboyd@genesishouse.ca
Start/End Dates: 2006 - 2010
Location: Lower Mainland, BC and area prisons
Brief Description: As an adjunct to the Westcoast Genesis Society's existing FASD Program, to provide adult male offenders with developmental and other cognitive difficulties such as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder with appropriate, effective and specialized in-reach and outreach support to successfully reintegrate them into the community. The "In-Reach" component involves pre-release coordination and casework of offenders impacted by FASD in Pacific Region institutions. Objectives of this proposal are to promote transfers of FASD offenders to the Pacific Regional Treatment Centre Rehabilitation Unit; to work closely with institutional staff; attend National Parole Board hearings etc., in order to prepare FASD-impacted offenders for conditional release to Genesis House. This in-reach work will also serve to initiate and develop a personal trust relationship with the offender during the incarceration phase of their sentence and it will prepare them for the transition to the Genesis House CRF.
The "Outreach" component involves the transition of FASD-impacted offenders as they prepare to leave Genesis House and/or reach warrant expiry. This component also involves getting these individuals stabilized in all areas of their lives (e.g. housing, income and money management, medical and mental health needs, problematic substance use, positive pro-social leisure activities, social needs and more). The need for effective risk management of these cases does not end when they leave Genesis House - in fact, some of the most challenging and tenuous times these individuals face are in the first few weeks and months following discharge. This is the time when FASD-impacted individuals involved in the federal criminal justice system are at a high risk for re-offence. The challenges faced in living independently are often overwhelming. Regardless of the amount of pre-discharge preparations made in easing these offenders into this next phase of their lives, they inevitably require ongoing intensive contact and "hands on" support to help them stabilize in their new way of living. Efforts to reintegrate FASD-impacted offenders who leave Genesis House at warrant expiry with a transition plan that gets them into suitable housing, ensures they continue to receive the same basic living supports they have received at Genesis House.
Time Frame: ongoing
Kind of Project: demonstration
Population Served: urban/suburban
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