About Us
Canada
The John Howard Society of Canada
The Canadian history of the John Howard Society began with a group of church workers in Toronto in 1867. Their mission was to bring spiritual help to prisoners in the local jail. In 1874 this small group became known as the Prisoners Aid Association of Toronto and recognized that more than spiritual aid was needed by the prisoners. The Prisoners Aid Association of Toronto became inactive in 1915 when interest dwindled. In 1929 a citizens' group led by General Draper, the chief of Police in Toronto reactivated the association as the Citizens Service Association. General Draper believed that the work of police was undermined by the circumstances facing people on release from prison. The organization of volunteers provided practical help to ex-prisoners with housing, clothing and employment.
In 1931 Reverend J. Dinnage Hobden formed the group in British Columbia under the name of the John Howard Society. John Howard was a great prison reformer who lived from 1726 to 1790. The society aided prisoners and ex-convicts in rehabilitation and re-integration.
In 1946 the Citizens Service Association in Ontario changed its name and became the John Howard Society of Ontario. Most other provinces formed John Howard Societies between 1947 and 1960. In February of 1962 the John Howard Society of Canada was formed when all provinces, except for Quebec, ratified a constitution. Quebec joined the John Howard Society in 1980. The Northwest Territories joined in 1994.
The John Howard Society fills an important role in public education, community service and in pressing for reform in the criminal justice area. Currently there are branches and offices in over 60 communities across Canada, provincial offices in all 10 provinces and the Northwest Territories and a national office in Ottawa.
Background
The John Howard Society of Canada is a federation of provincial/territorial and local Societies comprised of people whose goal is to understand and respond to problems of crime, to work with people who have come into conflict with the law, to review, evaluate and advocate for changes in the criminal justice process and to engage in public education on matters involving criminal law and its application.
There are provincial/territorial Societies in each of the ten provinces and in the Northwest Territories. Local branches and affiliates are associated with each provincial/territorial Society. Across Canada, there are 78 John Howard Society offices providing 451 programs serving clients, clients' families and the public at large.
Direct service to individuals is delivered primarily by the local branches and affiliates. The original focus of the founders of the John Howard Society was helping men released from prison. While aftercare continues to be a core service to this day, the activities of local Societies have expanded over the years. The services now include working with men in correctional facilities both federal and provincial, with people in community correctional programs, with young offenders both in custody and in the community and, most recently, with people defined as being at risk of involvement in criminal activity.
Generally, the provincial/territorial Societies take primary responsibility for reform and community education activities and provide administrative support to the branches and affiliates. Activities such as communications (for example, compiling, publishing and distributing A Directory of John Howard Programs Across Canada) and research on federal matters tend to be done through the national Society.
The John Howard Society depends on public involvement. All levels of the organization are governed by voluntary Boards of Directors. Volunteers are extensively involved in the direct service work of the Society. Many also support the work of the John Howard Society through donations.
Branches and affiliates provide a wide range of services and programs to young offenders including education for youth at the primary prevention level, training and employment services for youth, counselling (some specific to problems such as drug and alcohol abuse and sexual offending), literacy and/or life skills programs for youth, supervision of young offender Community Service Orders, young offender Victim Offender Reconciliation/Restitution programs, young offender Attendance Centre programs, and residential programs. At the provincial/territorial and national levels, activities have included providing testimony in a professional capacity at young offender transfer hearings, preparing community education bulletins, position papers and briefs related to the issues of youth crime and young offenders and working with a coalition of organizations and individuals concerned about the welfare of children.
