New program to scale back variety of Manitoba Indigenous youth in custody – Winnipeg

A brand new program at Marymound Inc. in Manitoba goals to scale back the variety of Indigenous youths concerned within the justice system.

Zaagiwe Oshinawe Inaakonigewin, which interprets to “Love (the) Youth (in) Justice,” is a youth justice program primarily based on Indigenous therapeutic rules. It would join contributors to their neighborhood, tradition and Indigenous id whereas working to stop reoffences.

Contributors may have wraparound assist throughout their time within the justice system and as they transition out of custody.

“In the end that’s how younger people who find themselves concerned within the justice system discover success,” mentioned Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen, “not simply by programming that occurs inside a closed custody or a correctional facility, however past that of their neighborhood.”

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Marymound Inc. Government Director Nancy Parker emphasizes that this system will look totally different for every particular person. Contributors will have the ability to entry outdoors actions in addition to Marymound’s therapy to finest assist their progress.

“It’s their voice, it’s strength-based, and it once more permits a novel therapeutic journey for every youth,” Parker mentioned.

Based on Statistics Canada, Indigenous youth made up 43 per cent of youth in custody in 2018, regardless of being solely 8.8 per cent of all youth in Canada. This system goals to handle this overrepresentation by trying on the root causes of crime, like trauma and dependancy.

“Particular person approaches are so, so essential,” mentioned Parker. “There isn’t any one match, there isn’t any one youth who’s going to seem like the following youth of their journey main as much as us.”

This system makes use of a funding mannequin known as a social affect bond. Personal buyers fund the therapy, and are repaid by the federal government primarily based on this system’s outcomes. The province can pay as much as $2.25 million over three years. That is the primary justice social affect bond in Manitoba.

The province says incarceration and crime have a excessive “financial and human value,” and that lowering repeat offences via this preventative program will assist maintain communities secure.

“This can be a program that, if it really works – which I believe it has confirmed – via the social innovation financing, will have the ability to scale back the variety of children which are reoffending in our neighborhood,” mentioned Premier Heather Stefanson.

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