Who we are...
The Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough is committed to advocating and providing services for all criminalized and imprisoned women, as well as those at risk of coming into conflict with the law.
We recognize the rights of women to dignity and respect in all aspects of their involvement with the criminal justice system. We are committed to working with other agencies and all levels of government with similar principles and objectives.
What we do...
We provide gender responsive services and programs which promote the empowerment of women who are, have been or may be in conflict with the Criminal Justice System.
We initiate social action and foster community involvement and responsibility in efforts at directed at social change, reform of the Criminal Justice System and development of community alternatives to incarceration.
We promote community awareness, knowledge and understanding of the issues faced by women involved in the Criminal Justice System and the conditions which contribute to women coming into conflict with the Criminal Justice System.
Did you know?
Many women in prison are mothers, the majority of whom were sole-support parents before prison. When a mother is incarcerated, her children can also face emotional and psychological trauma from the separation. Too often they end up in child welfare systems that do not have adequate resources to fully address their needs, exacting further human, social and economic costs on the children and their communities.
The cost of imprisoning a woman in a federal prison is now estimated by corrections to average $175,000 per year and can be higher than $250,000 per year for women kept in the most isolated and segregated conditions of confinement, such as the segregated maximum security units in the prisons for women.
According to the Ontario Parole and Earned Release Board, parole grants decreased from 3,833 in 1993-1994 to 361 in 2002-2003. The decline of provincial parole in Ontario brings significant human, social, and economic costs considering the damaging effect of imprisonment on individuals, the lack of community support and supervision to assist community integration and minimize recidivism, and the expensive cost of keeping people in prisons.
United Way Member Agency
United Way of Peterborough & District seeks to enhance community life and build stronger, healthier communities by connecting community needs to community resources. Through an effective annual fundraising campaign, the United Way of Peterborough maximizes available financial resources to enable our member agencies to improve our community's quality of life.
Through the use of volunteer fund review teams and responsible stewardship, United Way of Peterborough & District allocates funds to meet current and changing human care needs within the community. Currently, funds raised through the United Way campaign directly support 91 programs and services in the County and City of Peterborough.
**NEW** Annual General Meeting
Our AGM is being held on June 20, 2012 from 11:30 to 1:30 at Trinity United Church.
Our guest speaker will be Justice Lisa Cameron. She will be speaking about the new Community Support Court in Peterborough. The new court works with select clients who are repeatedly before the courts because of mental health and addiction issues.
General public welcome but please RSVP as a light lunch will be served.
News and Events
National Elizabeth Fry Week: May 7 to May 13, 2012
National Elizabeth Fry Week is always the week preceding Mother’s Day. The majority of women who are criminalized and imprisoned are mothers. Most of them were the sole supporters of their families at the time they were incarcerated. When mothers are sentenced to prison, their children are sentenced to separation.
Our goal is to enhance public awareness and education regarding the circumstances of victimized and criminalized women involved in the criminal justice system. By focusing on “Meeting Women’s Needs in the Community and Alternatives to Institutionalization”, our 25 member societies encourage Canadians to examine some productive and responsible means of encouraging community responses to addressing criminal justice matters from coast to coast.
Upcoming Programs
Please call us at 705-749-6809 for the dates and start times of our group programs. They are free and women can self refer.
"A testimonial..."
"Without the EFry Society I don't think that I'd be where I am today. The program provided me with a lot of tools on how to cope with day-to-day things, how to take care of yourself basically, and in turn, if you do that, all these other behaviours seemed to decrease. All I can say is, without the Society my life would be completely different. And I would not have and felt the way I feel now, and experience life the way I do now. I tell people that the clarity in my life, through what I've learned from the Society, has amazed me, and still continues to do so on a daily basis. Everybody here has been fantastic - very supportive, and non-judgmental, which has changed my life completely."
