OUR ORGANIZATION
ABOUT ELIZABETH FRY SOCIETY NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
Elizabeth Fry Society Northwestern Ontario is a charitable organization that supports and advocates for women, Two-Spirit, non-binary and gender diverse people in prison, those transitioning back into the community, and those at risk of criminalization. We work to provide integrated programs and support services that best meet the needs of our clients and their families, with the goal of fostering independence, building healthy communities and reducing incarceration.
Our team provides responsive and compassionate support while recognizing that people are resourceful, resilient and experts in their own lives. We respect and honour our clients where they are, without judgment, and support them in achieving their goals and aspirations. We undertake a gendered, culturally sensitive and trauma-informed approach when working with clients and their families. Gender plays a key role in women’s personal circumstances. Two-thirds of female inmates are parents and the vast majority are sole caregivers. Many have experienced gender-based violence, struggle with addiction and mental illness. Virtually all live below the poverty line and some are homeless.
Our programs are aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty, addiction, mental illness, homelessness and crime. Our team works with clients to overcome systemic and individual barriers by helping them to meet their basic needs and to navigate the housing market, the legal system and various social programs. This approach helps empower each individual to build confidence and acknowledges their resilience in restoring their own lives.
ABOUT ELIZABETH FRY SOCIETY NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO
Elizabeth Fry Society Northwestern Ontario is a charitable organization that supports and advocates for women, Two-Spirit, non-binary and gender diverse people in prison, those transitioning back into the community, and those at risk of criminalization. We work to provide integrated programs and support services that best meet the needs of our clients and their families, with the goal of fostering independence, building healthy communities and reducing incarceration.
Our team provides responsive and compassionate support while recognizing that people are resourceful, resilient and experts in their own lives. We respect and honour our clients where they are, without judgment, and support them in achieving their goals and aspirations. We undertake a gendered, culturally sensitive and trauma-informed approach when working with clients and their families. Gender plays a key role in women’s personal circumstances. Two-thirds of female inmates are parents and the vast majority are sole caregivers. Many have experienced gender-based violence, struggle with addiction and mental illness. Virtually all live below the poverty line and some are homeless.
Our programs are aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty, addiction, mental illness, homelessness and crime. Our team works with clients to overcome systemic and individual barriers by helping them to meet their basic needs and to navigate the housing market, the legal system and various social programs. This approach helps empower each individual to build confidence and acknowledges their resilience in restoring their own lives.
Mission
To provide advocacy, programming and supportive services to women, Two-Spirit, non-binary and gender diverse people who are criminalized or may become criminalized.
Vision
A just and inclusive society without prisons where all people live with dignity, equality and economic security.
Our History
The Elizabeth Fry Society of Northwestern Ontario was established as the first and only organization in Thunder Bay with an exclusive mandate to support women involved in the criminal justice system. In 1998, the Northwestern Ontario Women’s Decade Council identified the need to provide services for criminalized women in Thunder Bay and area. Within a year, a Decade Counsel steering committee was established to conduct a needs assessment. A 4th year social work student from Lakehead University was tasked with investigating the needs and gaps through interviews and public meetings. The resulting report, “Women in Conflict with the Law (Thunder Bay and Area) Elizabeth Fry Society” was released in March 1999. The report concluded that there was a need to provide support to women serving sentences in and out of custody, those being discharged from jails and other institutions and those at risk of conflict with the law. Over the next three years, the steering committee worked on establishing the governance and infrastructure of the organization and expanded its membership, leading to its incorporation as a not-for–profit corporation in 2003, and subsequently a charitable corporation.
Since its inception, the Elizabeth Fry Society has grown substantially from being primarily a volunteer-based organization to providing a range of services and programs for women in custody and in the community. In recent years, the Board has acknowledged its responsibility to be more inclusive and has accordingly revised its mission, vision and values. The Elizabeth Fry Society of Northwestern Ontario respects diversity and welcomes women, Two-Spirit, non-binary and gender diverse people of all ages, across all cultures, abilities and needs and with diverse identities.
Our Approach
“We undertake a gendered, culturally sensitive and trauma informed approach when working with clients and their families.”
Elizabeth Fry was born into a family of Quakers in 1780 in England. It was fortunate for all concerned that Quakers believed in the equality of women (250 years before women won the vote), otherwise Elizabeth Fry’s unusual talents in the area of prison reform might never have been realized.
Her insight, persistence, organizational ability and her willingness to see a “divine light” in every person resulted in striking reforms taking place in the manner in which women and children were treated in London’s Newgate Prison.
She was a strong proponent of humane treatment for prisoners and regarded by many as a leading expert in prison reform. As she once said, “When thee builds a prison, thee had better build with the thought ever in thy mind that thee and thy children may occupy the cells.”
Elizabeth Fry died in 1845 at the age of 66 years.
Elizabeth Fry was born into a family of Quakers in 1780 in England. It was fortunate for all concerned that Quakers believed in the equality of women (250 years before women won the vote), otherwise Elizabeth Fry’s unusual talents in the area of prison reform might never have been realized.
Her insight, persistence, organizational ability and her willingness to see a “divine light” in every person resulted in striking reforms taking place in the manner in which women and children were treated in London’s Newgate Prison.
She was a strong proponent of humane treatment for prisoners and regarded by many as a leading expert in prison reform. As she once said, “When thee builds a prison, thee had better build with the thought ever in thy mind that thee and thy children may occupy the cells.”
Elizabeth Fry died in 1845 at the age of 66 years.