"Healing on Both Sides": Strengthening the Effectiveness of Prison–Indigenous Community Partnerships Through Reciprocity and Investment

Authors

  • Colleen Varcoe University of British Columbia, Canada
  • Helen Brown University of British Columbia, Canada
  • Kelsey Timler University of British Columbia, Canada
  • Melissa Taylor Correctional Service of Canada, Pacific Region, Canada
  • Elizabeth Straus University of British Columbia, Canada

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18584/iipj.2020.11.3.8064

Keywords:

Indigenous, Indigenous leadership, prison-community partnership, reciprocity, criminal justice inequities, mixed methods, criminal justice policy

Abstract

This mixed methods study examined the impact of a prison–community partnership, entitled Work 2 Give. The partnership supports a program in which federally incarcerated men in Canada make items to donate to Indigenous communities. Qualitative interviews were conducted with participating men (n = 32), recipient community members (n = 29), and other prison and community stakeholders (n = 14). Selected outcomes (transfers to higher security, successful transfers to lower security, and serious institutional charges) were examined for 60 incarcerated men for whom data were available. Findings suggest that the program positively affected the men’s identities and provided opportunities for communities to help incarcerated men to heal; both sets of stakeholders see potential to strengthen the program. Whereas the emphasis has been on unidirectional donation, and the impetus for the program has been with correctional staff, findings suggest a bidirectional model with stronger feedback loops between the prison and community to support reciprocity, investment, and visibility would enhance impact. This model has broad implications for strengthening community–prison partnerships.

Author Biographies

Colleen Varcoe, University of British Columbia, Canada

Colleen Varcoe, RN, PhD, University of British Columbia (UBC), School of Nursing. Dr. Varcoe is a Professor in the School of Nursing. Her research focuses on reducing structural and interpersonal violence and inequities, and on promoting ethical and equitable health care practice and policy. She is currently leading or co-leading intervention studies which include studies of health promotion interventions for women experiencing violence, including a study specifically with Indigenous women, studies to promote equitable, culturally safe and trauma- and violence-informed care in primary care settings, and more recently in Emergency Departments with a specific focus on Indigenous people.         

Helen Brown, University of British Columbia, Canada

Helen Brown, RN, PhD, UBC, School of Nursing. Dr. Brown is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing, and brings critical perspectives to her program of research aimed at improving health and social equity for rural and remote Indigenous communities. Using community-based participatory methods she has worked with First Nations communities across Western Canada on projects that align with community priorities around health, wellness, cultural continuity and language revitalization. She is currently the lead on a program of research, in partnership with the Correctional Service of Canada which investigates impacts of a prison-community partnership.

Kelsey Timler, University of British Columbia, Canada

Kelsey Timler, MSc., UBC, School of Nursing. Miss. Timler is a Research Manager and PhD student based out of the UBC Critical Research in Healthcare Inequities (CRiHHI) Research Unit. She works across a number of participatory research projects aimed at fostering social and health equity, all them conducted in partnership with Indigenous communities, including a program of research focused on improving the sustainability and scale-ability of a federal prison-Indigenous community partnership. She has a background in public health and professional cooking, and her current doctoral studies draw on community-based participatory methods to support health and healing for justice-involved women through food-based correctional and community partnership programming.

Melissa Taylor, Correctional Service of Canada, Pacific Region, Canada

Melissa Taylor, MA, Correctional Service of Canada, Pacific Region. Melissa is the Executive Director of the Regional Treatment Centre with the Correctional Service of Canada. She holds a Health Sciences Degree, and a Master of Arts in Leadership and Training with a specialization in Justice and Public Safety, and was formerly a Registered Psychiatric Nurse. During her 21-year tenure with the Correctional Service of Canada, Melissa has worked in a variety of management positions and has extensive experience working with offenders and delivering programs designed to promote mental health, rehabilitation and reintegration. Melissa played a central role in the development of the Work 2 Give initiative.

Elizabeth Straus, University of British Columbia, Canada

Elizabeth Straus, MSN, UBC School of Nursing. Elizabeth Straus is a PhD student in the School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Nursing at Linfield College, where she teaches chronic care, mental health and community and population health. Her research interests bring relational and critical theoretical perspectives to the study of issues of quality of life and home and community care with adolescents and adults living with disabilities and technology-dependence. She has most recently published in the areas of health care transitions and measurement and has a strong interest in measurement issues with marginalized populations.

International Indigenous Policy Journal July 2020 Volume 11 Issue 3; Nicholas Spence, Editor-in-Chief; Susan Wingert, Managing Editor

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Published

2020-10-05

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 3 (2020): The COVID-19 Pandemic and Indigenous Peoples

Section

Research

License

Copyright (c) 2020 Colleen Varcoe, Helen Brown, Kelsey Timler, Melissa Taylor, Elizabeth Straus

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