I’ve worn many hats as a volunteer, but none have reshaped me quite like stepping into the world of correctional service.
I first learned about Queen’s Correctional Service Volunteers (QCSV) at Queen’s in the Park during Orientation week of my first year. I was sold on the idea of volunteering in prisons immediately and eagerly awaited the day the club opened applications. After completing the application, interview, and extensive boundary training provided by QCSV, along with background checks and fingerprinting through Correctional Services Canada (CSC), I was officially cleared to volunteer.
My first shift was at Henry Traill Community Correctional Centre, a low-security halfway house for offenders who had served two-thirds of their sentence. When I walked into the facility, the guard at the front desk asked if I was nervous; I gave him an excited “No!” and joined my fellow volunteers upstairs in the recreation room, where the residents were waiting.
I sat and talked to one offender the entire hour and a half I was there, while my co-volunteers played pool or talked to other offenders. It felt remarkably normal. In my sessions at Henry Traill, I’ve been taught countless card games, learned how to play pool, listened to lots of great stories, and sang group karaoke. I’ve never been made to feel uncomfortable in any of my correctional volunteering, but Henry Traill is a particularly relaxed environment. As I continued my shifts, I got to know the regular attendees and gained confidence in my ability to connect with the offenders.
Eager to gain more experience, I taught workshops in the medium-security unit at Collins Bay Institution. Our sessions happen bright and early on Monday mornings, and I was consistently impressed by the engagement of the offenders.
A consistent group of 16 offenders who attend our weekly sessions, and they’re extremely motivated to contribute to group discussion. Funnily enough, the group resembles a typical classroom: we have a class clown, some quieter participants, and others who ask endless questions. I often leave the sessions feeling that I’ve learned more than I’ve taught.
For my next correctional volunteering adventure, I joined a small group of volunteers who facilitate the 7th Step Program at Millhaven Maximum Security Institution each week. The program normally runs outside of institutions as a support group for people who have been previously incarcerated.
The program consists of seven weeks of structured discussion about strengths, weaknesses, goal setting, and emotional management. QCSV has adapted the program to serve men currently incarcerated in the Structured Intervention Unit (SIU), formerly known as solitary confinement or administrative segregation. Two volunteers work with one offender, allowing for an individualized experience.
I was fortunate to complete the full seven weeks with the offender I was paired with. Because the 7th Step Program is inherently more personal than other volunteer experiences, we had some deeply vulnerable conversations. His life story was devastating, marked by trauma, loss, danger, and pain. Yet despite this, he was funny, motivated, and determined to help youth avoid the path he had taken. Saying goodbye after so many meaningful conversations was difficult, and I hope he continues to pursue his goals.
Over the summer, I participated in phone calls with men in the SIU. Even men in one of the highest levels of prison security can be incredibly introspective. I love hearing about their goals, motivations, and interests. I’ve always appreciated the offenders’ willingness to talk with a stranger from Queen’s. Believe it or not, we usually find more common ground than one might expect.
I’ve received a fair share of critical comments about my choice to volunteer with offenders. I choose to believe many of them come from a place of concern about my safety. I understand this perspective. Most people expect us to have some sort of plexiglass between us and the offenders. In reality, with the exception of the phone calls, we’re in the same room as the offenders, they aren’t handcuffed, and we’re often outnumbered. In fact, in the 7th Step, we’re actually locked into the room with them. All procedures we follow are designed for the safety of everyone involved, and we always have a way to get help in an emergency.
Inmates aren’t waiting for the next opportunity to cause harm. The men who engage in our programs do so voluntarily, whether that is for personal development, time out of their cell, or demonstration to the parole board that they’re committed to improvement. We give them our respect, and they do the same for us. No matter your opinion on the level of punishment offenders deserve, these men have already been sentenced. Many of the men I’ve worked with will be released within my lifetime. I would rather offenders have had the opportunity for socialization and programming before release than them returning to the community without those valuable experiences.
Crime’s indeed bad, but the offenders will be the first to tell you that. They support the idea of “do the crime, do the time”. But they will also tell you that they want to improve. Some of these men have families and children on the outside who they want to provide for. Some have exciting career aspirations. Some just never want to return to a correctional institution. I would like to think we all do the best we can with what we have been given, and the sad reality is that many of these men weren’t given much.
I don’t think that any of us could say with absolute certainty that we wouldn’t have ended up in the same situation as these offenders if we had lived through their circumstances. The way I see it, correctional volunteering is something I can very reasonably do to help a population who haven’t had every advantage in life.
Now, as the current Millhaven Program Coordinator for QCSV, I organize our phone call program and 7th Step sessions. We’re expanding 7th Step to Millhaven’s general population unit in the hopes of providing programming for more offenders. I’m forever grateful for the perspective I have gained through QCSV and my experiences in correctional institutions, and I plan to continue to involve myself in rehabilitation efforts in some way for many years to come.
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Postscript, Queen's, Volunteering
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