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  • Better Life: Setting the prisoner free

    As many of you know, Better Life has held the Correctional Service Canada (CSC) Faith Community Reintegration Contract (FCRP) for a number of years. Much to Better Life’s surprise, a Florida-based corporation undercut the financial bid of the most recent contract (without providing support in all the designated regions…), and consequently gained a number of the FCRP contracts across Canada, including ours.

    While this came a quite a shock—particularly since Better Life has been recognized by CSC as a national leader in faith community reintegration best practices—after many conversations and much prayer, the Better Life team believes our future is as bright as ever.

    We recognize this as a moment to reaffirm our identity and sense of mission as an organization.

    From the very beginning, Better Life was shaped by what Christians call the gospel. The belief that our identity and very nature can be radically transformed by a Creator God who loves us so deeply He sacrificed Himself on our behalf. As the Gospel of John says so eloquently, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

    As Better Life, we believe that the gospel compels us to look at every human as being created in the image of God, and therefore, having dignity and worth—no matter who they are, no matter what they’ve done.

    I truly count it a privilege and an honour as Better Life’s executive director to have a front row seat to witness the actions of men and women who love and follow Jesus as they invest themselves in serving the ‘least of these.’

    silhouetted people walking across a suspension bridge against a forest backdrop

    Moving forward, while Better Life no longer holds the CSC FCRP, our team are able to continue to provide faith community reintegration support by meeting with men and women within the Correctional Institutions and assisting them into church communities that provide life-changing and eternity-altering support.

    We plan to continue to work closely with our wonderful network of church communities, Correctional Institution Chaplains, Institutional and Community Parole Officers, Halfway Homes, Substance Use Treatment Centres, and our friends through the community reintegration network.

    That said, up to this point, Better Life’s funding was largely through the CSC contract, which is no longer the case. While we have reduced our organizational costs as quickly and substantially as we can, the fact is there are still many financial commitments that Better Life needs to continue in order to to facilitate healthy reintegration support.

    For instance, some ongoing needs are our toll free number, that allows offenders and parolees to connect with their Better Life chaplain, our online presence that allows us to communicate the stories of transformation provided through church communities, and a reduced level of staffing retained to support the many actions that are need to connect men and women as they gain parole with a church community, and all the other services that are an essential part of a healthy reintegration experience.

    In the midst of so many good and worthy requests for your financial support, you may ask, “why should I give to Better Life?”

    Why?

    • Because this often overlooked ministry is a clear expression of Jesus’s ministry and mission. Jesus was clear that a commitment and investment in ‘the least of these’ (including those imprisoned—Matthew 25:39) is a clear expression of a genuine follower of Jesus (No, we don’t invest in the least of these to somehow earn God’s favour. But, as authentic followers of Jesus, our lives are invested in those who Jesus is committed to.)
    • Because supporting parolees through a church community of people who love and follow Jesus is both life-changing and eternity-altering. What Better Life has experienced over and over again is the transforming power of God through His people and church to give parolees a hope and a future.
    • Because supporting Parolees through church communities radically impacts our society for good. A former Correctional Service Canada (CSC) Regional Chaplain noted that recidivism (reoffending) drops by over 80% when parolees are reintegrated back into society through their church community.

    Can you imagine the impact that has on our society as a whole?! We constantly read headlines about our broken prison system, the terrible consequences of untreated substance use and mental health, not to mention horrible examples of reoffending.

    But what church community reintegration shows us is that when a man or woman with a criminal past is welcomed, supported, discipled, counselled, provided opportunities for employment and education, transformation is possible, and that individual can again become a contributing member of our Canadian society.

    In our next Better Life post, I want to share one of the amazing stories of transformation with you. But for now, for the reasons listed above, would you consider an investment into the ministry of Better Life as together we join Jesus in His mission of ‘setting the prisoner free.’

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    With thanks, on behalf of Better Life,

    Adam Wiggins

    Executive Director

  • Illustrating the Life-Transforming Power of Reintegration

    This past month, you may have come across this news headline:

    Sask. woman found frozen was released from correctional centre 3 days earlier

    It is such a tragic story. This young woman had family and community who cared for her, yet they were unaware of her release.

    This post isn’t to criticize Correctional Services Canada or any particular Correctional Institution. However, as I read this tragic story, it emphasized for me the incredible contribution community chaplaincy makes.

    When an offender is released, they can be walked to the door of the prison, given their belongings and a bus pass, and simply sent on their way, if they have no one waiting to escort them.

    Contrast this with the reality that the period following an offender’s release is the most critical in terms of re-offending (rate of recidivism).

    Offenders often express that the most stressful time they face isn’t necessarily inside a Corrections Institution. As bleak as it can be, there often develops a rhythm and a pattern to institutionalized life.

    What’s most stressful turns out to be the initial weeks and months after release.

    Federal Corrections, in particular, involves longer sentence terms, and the world an offender walks out into can seem like a whole new one. Offenders not only have to navigate the complexity of navigating their own finances, dramatically different technology, housing, employment, and relationships, but rejection waits for them at every turn.

    Thanks to Google and a deeply connected world of near-instant access to information, the details of their offence are readily available to potential employers, landlords, banks, and other connections.

    Rejection, fear, feelings of inadequacy and vulnerability, and this stream of logistical challenges—and potential reconnections with toxic relationships or environments—often push parolees right back into institutionalization.

    But what if we change that scenario?

    What if, on the day of release, instead of being shown the door, handed a bus ticket or being shipped to a halfway home, there’s a familiar face waiting for them at that door? And that someone—who already has been extending support during incarceration—drives them to their destination? And they engage in the continued conversation about what the parolee can expect, and where their people and places of support will be?

    What if the parolee is introduced to a community of faith that they identify with from (before) day one? And they have mentors and places of connection that can provide support as they navigate “a whole new world” full of new or dramatically altered technology, and the need for income and housing, positive relationships, and an environment that supports healthy spiritual practices?

    In fact, when we can provide the above ingredients in an individual’s reintegration it is, with no exaggeration, a game-changer—and a life-changer—for that individual.

    The most commonly shared statistic is that when parolees are reintegrated into their faith communities upon release, there is an over 70% drop in re-offending.

    That’s staggering, isn’t it? That’s good for the individual, the community, the mentors and volunteers (because we’re always learning a lot!), and frankly, the nation!

    I am so grateful for all of our churches, faith communities, Better Life community chaplains and volunteers, whose sacrificial investment makes such a life-changing difference for the men and women we serve. Thank you.

    If you’d like to find out more about how you can volunteer, or how your church can be involved in the work of reintegration, I would love to hear from you!

    With gratitude,

    Adam Wiggins, General Director

    adam.betterlife@gmail.com