With fewer COVID-19 cases in the Fraser Valley, Corrections Services Canada (CSC) is beginning to reopen some institutions to our volunteer mentorship program. This is good news!
Among those to reopen is Fraser Valley Institution for Women (FVI) in Abbotsford, where up to five volunteers can visit each week.
“It was so incredible to be back at the prison,” one volunteer said. “It was nice to chat with the staff, nice to sort of get back to normal even though we have to wear masks!”
She said the visit with her match went really well. “We talked a lot about how the last year and a bit has gone. She is struggling, yet she was very excited that we could meet, and so was I.”
Further up the valley in Harrison Mills, Kwìkwèxwelhp Healing Village (Kwi) hasn’t reopened to volunteers, but Elder Pascal Adam is visiting once a week and meeting with men one on one.
On Vancouver Island, volunteers led by coordinator Phil Bulled are visiting men incarcerated at William Head Institution. Only one volunteer is permitted at a time, and they are wearing masks and following physical distancing protocols.
“When the people of Israel returned to Jerusalem after exile,” Phil said, “and met up with the remnant that had stayed behind, there was much rejoicing. To some degree that is how I felt when I re-entered the institution. It was wonderful to renew our mentoring relationships, and we received a heartfelt welcome.”
While letters and phone calls have provided vital links for the past 16 months, in-person visits are the foundation of our prison mentorship program. We look forward to more institutions reopening and seeing more of our volunteers reconnect with their matches inside.