Our Programs
Our programs are designed to help women avoid prison sentences and develop skills to prevent re-offending and further incarceration. Training is also provided to women prisoners within the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, and we provide follow-up re-integration work with women upon their release. Supportive counselling is an important component of our programming as it often focuses on helping women become prepared for further counselling and other supportive programs.
Anger Solutions
This psycho-educational program enables women to assume responsibility for their actions by developing an understanding of the origins of women’s anger, the theory of anger development and techniques for effectively and safely expressing and releasing anger.

Topics covered include:

  • Taking ownership of emotional health and well-being.
  • Identifying differing styles of expressing anger.
  • Cognitive distortions and physiological responses to anger.
  • Developing an intellectual understanding of anger development.
  • Techniques to resolve anger.
  • Application of principles of assertiveness to expression of anger.
  • Recognizing healthy and unhealthy relationships.
  • Increasing self-esteem.
  • Non-verbal communication styles and effective listening.
  • Anger resolution skills and conflict resolution skills.

Duration: 10 weeks

STOPlifting
This is a psycho-educational group for women who commit shoplifting, fraud and other breach of trust offences. The program is designed to enable women to take responsibility for their actions within the context of developing new skills to cope with stress, poverty and isolation.

Topics covered include:

  • Examining how a woman’s beliefs and values both positively and negatively affect their lives.
  • Examining factors that help determine a woman’s sense of self-esteem.
  • Understanding how cultural attitudes about roles and status of women are internalized and shape the lives of individuals.
  • Exploring the causes of shoplifting, theft, breach of trust, fraud and related behaviours.
  • Exploring how grief, loss, depression and isolation impact a woman’s behaviour.
  • Learning self-care strategies, money management techniques, budgeting and the development of a spending plan.

Duration: 8 weeks

Wellness and Self-esteem
The goal of this psycho-educational group is to assist women to develop their self-esteem by exploring relationships between self-image, self-acceptance, self-awareness and self-esteem.

Topics covered include:

  • Exploring relationships between self-image, self-acceptance, self-awareness and self-esteem.
  • Examining healthy relationships, healthy boundaries and self-care.
  • Practicing anger awareness, assertiveness and enjoyment of achievements for what they are.
  • Learning stress management, coping strategies, achievable goal setting and self-esteem building techniques.
  • Exploring unhealthy versus healthy lifestyle choices within the context of self-talk, body image, diet and exercise and substance use/abuse.

Duration: 8 weeks

Peer Support
This group is open to women who have been charged with an offence or who have served a prison sentence. This is a voluntary participation group with no reporting procedure unless requested by the individual woman, however many of the women are also involved in other mandated programs and/or under the oversight of Probation and Parole. It offers an opportunity for women to build supportive networks to deal with family and personal issues beyond crisis management.

Duration: ongoing

Taking Control: Making Healthy Relationship Choices
The goal of this psycho-educational program is to increase the safety of women in conflict with the law by raising their awareness and increasing their knowledge of issues related to woman abuse. This program is intended to provide practical ways and means for women to identify abuse in relationships and to learn ways to manage risk and increase safety in abusive relationships. This program is delivered through the Elizabeth Fry Society on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of Corrections. In addition, it is hoped that participation in this awareness program will be the first step in the process that will subsequently include more intensive individual or therapeutic group counselling.

Topics covered include:

  • Identifying and increasing understanding of woman abuse and it’s effect on women and children.
  • Examining the issues associated with violence in intimate relationships.
  • Examining forms of abuse and learning how to recognize it.
  • Increasing the ability to assess levels of risk and develop realistic safety plans.
  • Enhancing awareness of available services and supports.

Duration: 6 weeks

1:1 Support Programs
One to one programs are available to women where programming may be more suitable on an one-to-one basis and are designed to meet the specific needs of a client, as well as probationary and court ordered requirements.

Duration: ongoing

Cooking Classes
Designed to help women develop the skills needed to plan and shop for a healthy and nutritious menu for themselves and their families.

Topics covered include:

  • Learning to cook nutritious meals within a limited budget and/or with items received from food banks.
  • Participants enjoy the supportive environment of peers in a community kitchen.

Duration: 6 weeks