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Programs & Services
Housing First Outreach Program
The goal of the Housing First Outreach Program is to promote and provide stable housing for people who are or were homeless, who have substance abuse issues or mental health issues. The workers in charge of this program generally work with around twenty clients.
The housing First Outreach Program operates on five principles.
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Immediate access to permanent housing with no requirements.
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Consumer choice and self-determination.
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Recovery orientation.
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Individualized and client-driven supports.
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Social and community integration.
The Housing First Outreach Program workers have several duties. such as building a service plan. Additionally, Workers must be ready to provide support for the client, and make sure the client has sufficient knowledge on topics such as substance abuse, safe sex, and domestic violence.
For more information on our Housing First program, please visit the official Housing First Website.
Alternative Measures (AM) and
Extra Judicial Sanctions (EJS) Program
The AM and EJS programs are pre and post court referral programs that provide “alternatives” to court proceedings. The program offers a constructive way to address non-violent, low risk offenders who accept responsibility for criminal charge(s) against them.
Serious and violent crimes such as domestic violence, are not eligible for AM/EJS.
The process involves victim(s), offenders, and the community, in a search for solutions that promote reparation and reconciliation. The program is offered to youth and adults as an opportunity to accept responsibility for their actions and to work at making amends, with no criminal record resulting.
The goal is to help restore community harmony and enhance the personal safety of citizens and their property.
Why an AM/EJS Program?
The AM/EJS Program is founded on the principles of Restorative Justice. The underlying belief is: it is more beneficial for the victim(s), community and offender if all involved address the behaviour and identify ways to repair the harm done.
Offenders who accept responsibility for their actions possess a greater understanding and increased awareness of the harm done.
The victim(s) has the opportunity to tell offenders about the impact of crime and to make suggestions about what could be done to make things right.
Through these programs, the community is empowered to deal with a problem in a way that complements the criminal justice system, and the efforts of staff, to balance public safety, and to restore the offender/victim/community relationships.
Under what conditions are offenders referred to the AM/EJS Program?
The program applies to specific offences and within certain situations.
The following factors are considered:
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The type of offense;
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The seriousness of the offence;
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The views of the victim(s);
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The attitude of the offender about the offence and the victim; and
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The offender’s previous involvement, if any, with the criminal justice system.
AM/EJS will be considered for those who:
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Meet all the criteria;
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Accept responsibility for an offence; and
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Freely agree to take part in the program.
Although incarceration is necessary for some individuals, many are contributing members of the community who are capable of making personal changes without the formal court process, and who can benefit from positive connections in the community where they have done harm.
How are victim(s) involved in the process?
The interests, needs and views of the victim(s) are carefully considered in making the decision to proceed with AM/EJS. If the accused has agreed to take part in the AM/EJS Program, the victim(s) is contacted and offered the opportunity to participate in the process.
The process provides an opportunity for victims to talk directly to offenders (or in writing) about the effects of the wrongdoing, to encourage meaningful dialogue and awareness. However, if the victim(s) does not agree or declines to participate, the decision to proceed with AM/EJS can still occur.
How does the AM/EJS Program work?
John Howard Society, in conjunction with the Department of Public Safety (through probation services), operates the program. A Coordinator manages every case referral. The Coordinator often arranges for a committee to meet with the offender, depending on the case matter and the individual involved.
The committee (composed of community representatives, police, etc.) meets with the offender (and if a young person, parent or guardian also) and the victim(s), if the victim(s) wishes to take part. The committee discusses the case and determines appropriate measures.
Measures involved may include, but are not limited to:
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participating in mediation with the victim(s);
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attending special information, programs or educational sessions;
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paying restitution to the victim;
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providing personal service work for the victim;
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attending treatment or counselling sessions; or
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completing a period of community service.
The offender and the committee chairperson then sign a contract outlining the terms and conditions. This contract or agreement, when successfully completed, will satisfy the offender’s responsibility and accountability to community. If an offender violates the conditions of the agreement, the case may proceed through the regular court system. There is no criminal conviction for offenders who successfully complete the program.
Fredericton Office: 453-2367
Intervention Coordinator (Woodstock)
The program provides facilitation of individual counselling based interventions, determined by the needs of the Woodstock Probation Office.
Programs include:
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Alternative Measures
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Anger Management
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Self-Referred Anger Management
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Partner Abuse Program
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Personal Interventions
Supportive Housing Program
The Supportive Housing Program is a shared initiative between Social Development Housing Division and the John Howard Society of Fredericton Inc. The purpose of this program is to offer supportive, subsidized one bedroom apartments for non-elderly adults as they work towards self-sufficiency. Ultimately, once the person has reached self-sufficiency they will be transferred into other non-supportive subsidized housing. The program follows the Housing First principles when working with tenants to achieve their goals.
Housing First focuses on three rules for all tenants:
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Pay the rent on time
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Do no harm
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Cause no damage
The Housing First model allows the Support Worker the ability to mould all expectations around the three basic rules. In this way, tenants learn to become responsible for their behaviours, while at the same time, gently learning socially acceptable methods of responding to tenant-landlord relationships as well as community expectations.
Direct Service
The program provides community-based services and advocacy for individuals who have or may come in conflict with the law. Through reform, the organization reviews, analyzes and evaluates criminal justice issues and actively promotes appropriate structural changes in the criminal justice process. With community education and development, the John Howard Society stimulates and engages community participation in response to the problems and issues of crime.
Phoenix Recycle Project
The recycle or Phoenix project provides the employee a positive job experience and helps the individual to become more aware of the important activities that take place in the Fredericton area.
Two individuals visit 13 locations predetermined by City of Fredericton. Duties include removing and sorting refundable bottles and cans, keeping a tally of the bottles/can in a daily log book, removing and sorting paper products, cleaning the recycle unit and placing any garbage into an adjacent waste container.
At Home and Beyond Program
The At Home and Beyond Program is a skills-building/support program for people who may be at risk of eviction or who are struggling to maintain safe and affordable housing. This 10 week group-based program helps individuals build the skill set they need to successfully maintain a home and build networks in the community. This highly interactive and supportive program offers small group-based workshops in a welcoming friendly environment. Come out and learn about making roots and making community!
Workshop themes include:
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Home cooking on a tight budget: making cooking and menu planning fun and affordable!
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Eating fresh all year round: how to grow or find fresh produce on a fixed income
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Financial Empowerment: learn tricks on how to make ends meet and how to recover from bad credit or no credit
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Tenant and Landlord Rights: negotiating a lease, damage deposit, late rent, or damages can be really tricky – learn about your rights and obligations as a renter
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Feeling Good Inside and Out: learn strategies for well-being, like how to improve self-esteem, bring down high blood pressure, increase energy, and learn how to access services using your Health Card
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Dealing with Difficult People: resolving conflicts with others can be really difficult – learn how to be heard and manage challenging situations
Partner Abuse Program
The program is designed to assist men in take responsibility for stopping their abusive behaviour. Program participants will learn how to create relationships based on safety, equality and respect.
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Examining negative thoughts about self
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Evaluating assumptions/myths about gender appropriate behaviour
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Learning to avoid minimizing the serious effects of abuse on themselves and the family unit
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Experience healing and relationship rebuilding
The program is delivered both individually and in group format over the course of 20 sessions. Referrals are accepted to meet supervisory orders under the Department of Public Safety.
Teen Emotions and Anger Management (TEAM)
This program assists youth, 15-19 years of age, in examining the effectiveness of their chosen behaviors and correlating these behaviors with their plans for their future. Through a one-on-one or group based approach, participants determine their situations and initiate positive changes by working to:
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Stop the violence.
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Learn to honestly self-evaluate and appraise responsibility for their chosen behavior.
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Learn to evaluate personal feelings and learn to express them in pro-social forms.
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Become familiar with dysfunctional family patterns and cycles of behaviour and their connection to ongoing violence within the home.
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Review personal history in an effort to more effectively understand current behaviors.
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Interrupt patterns of abuse.
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Learn relaxation skills and establish on-going improvement of these concepts and techniques.
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Become assertive in their choice behaviors, actions and language inclusive
The objective of this program is to facilitate a Violence Prevention Program, which enables participants to determine their individual situation and initiate positive change. Instruction is provided on the causes of anger which will allow participants to:
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Identify the precursors to violent behavior.
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Identify the impact of violent behavior on self and others.
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Recognize thinking patterns that lead to violent behavior and reframe them into thinking patterns that lead to non-violent, self-managed behavior.
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Identify how stress and tension can lead to violent behavior.
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Identify risk factors, triggers, and high-risk situations.
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Develop skills to communicate effectively.
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Establish a plan (lapse & relapse).
Community Maintenance Program (ICPM CMP-MT)
The Correctional Services of Canada (CSC) Community Maintenance Program (CMP) reinforces the skills that have been identified as the most effective in reducing recidivism:
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identifying and maintaining pro-social relationships and support
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emotions management
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clear thinking and decision making
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developing a pro-social lifestyle and behaviours.
The program offers much-needed support and encouragement to participants as they readjust to life outside the institution. CMP-MT is a twelve session continuous-entry program, which means there is no specific beginning and end. Participants can, for example, begin at session twelve and finish at session eleven as long as they do all twelve sessions. Each two hour lesson uses a cognitive-behavioural approach to teach a specific skill related to the four main target areas of Crime for Gain, Substance Abuse, General Violence, and Partner Violence.
Financial Empowerment Program
The group based program is offered in three hour sessions once per week for ten weeks. Participants are also able to meet individually with their program facilitator to address specific concerns.
The Financial Empowerment Program addresses areas of concern such as:
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Your Money Relationship and Decision Making Strategies
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The Art of Budgeting on a fixed income
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Saving: Rainy Days and Dreams
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Understanding the Secret World of Banking Services
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Be an Educated Consumer: Shopping on a Tight Budget
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Income and Taxes: How to Get the Most Out of Your Return
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Credit and Credit Cards
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Debt: Debt and Doubt - How to Identify and Resolve Financial Difficulties
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Exploring Credit Scores and Reports: How Does it Work and How Can it Work for You?
Interested individuals may self-refer or be referred by community organizations or government departments.
Managing Anger and Difficult Emotions (MADE)
MADE uses a cognitive behavioral therapeutic (CBT) approach that employs personal awareness, relaxation, self-understanding, and communication interventions to help men who have struggled with any of the following:
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Difficulty in communication
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Aggressive and/or violent outbursts
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Self –defeating behaviors
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poor impulse control
“This should be taught to all school aged children. I would have had a different life if this were so”
- MADE Program Participant
MADE offers a highly supportive and engaging learning environment to help men gain a better understanding of the personal triggers and thinking patterns underlying difficult emotions like rage, jealousy, anger, loneliness, and fear.
Sessions are designed to meet a variety of learning styles and needs and use a combination of self-assessment, group discussion, and individual practice to explore the following topics:
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Emotional awareness
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Understanding automatic responses to stressors
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Quick Control Strategies
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Stress Management
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Communication Skills
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Conflict Resolution and Problem Solving Practices
Referrals are accepted to meet supervisory orders under the Department of Public Safety and the Alternative Measures Program. Self-Referrals are also accepted, pending space availability.
Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities Program
The strengthening families, Strengthening Communities program (SFSC) is run in partnership with the Connaught Street School. The program is available to the students of Connaught Street School and their families. The Purpose of the program is to provide families with the skills to effectively communicate with each other and improve the relationships between parents and children.
The Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities Program takes place over several weeks, with one session per week. During each session, the parents and the children will attend different lectures tailored to the needs of each of the two groups. The parents’ program will be led by a facilitator from the John Howard Society of Fredericton while the child’s program will be led by a second JHSF Facilitator and the Connaught Street School’s Guidance Counsellor. After both lectures are complete, the groups are reunited to review what they learned. The families will then share a provided meal.
Community Adult Learning Program
The GED certificate is widely accepted as high school equivalency. We accept anyone into this program who wants to pass the GED exam. You are free to work at your own pace. Attend classes full-time, part-time, or in the evening at select locations until you are ready to write the exam.
The GED covers 5 major subjects:
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Math, Science, Social Studies, Reading, and Writing.
The in-class GED program operates on a 38 week contract from September to June. Intake to the class is ongoing. The program offers a variety of services: literacy, upgrading, pre-GED, GED prep and computer literacy skills. Schedules for learners are flexible to accommodate full or part time attendance. There is a common assessment of learners so that learners can start at their own skill level and work at their own pace. Training is free and class size is small to allow for one-on-one instruction.
Intake Assessment Process
This process is done with a teacher who will continue to provide personalized instruction, and takes between 2-4 hours to complete. It consists of two components: Language Arts and Math. The Language Arts component involves reading comprehension exercises, such as reading passages with comprehension questions, and word lists. The Math component involves worksheets focused on the use of addition, multiplication, etc. to the use of formulas. Overall, the assessment gages the needs of individual learners so that they can receive the instruction that is best for them.
Literacy, Upgrading and pre-GED
Students can upgrade their reading, writing and math skills in all grade levels. This upgrading can be designed to meet a particular need of a learner with respect to job or educational requirements. For example, a learner may need to upgrade his or her math skills in order to be considered for a particular job.
Transit Fare Assistance Program
Since 2006, The John Howard Society has applied for bus tickets through the City of Fredericton Transit Fare Assistance Program. Tickets received from the City of Fredericton are then distributed to participants for a variety of reasons including; employment search, mental health & addictions meetings, access to food bank. In order for this program to be provided, The John Howard Society is responsible for managing and being accountable for the tickets allotted, and well as submitting a monthly and final report to the City of Fredericton.
Understanding Our Emotions
Designed to provide participants with an opportunity to become more skilled at managing difficult emotions in a way that leads to healthy, productive outcomes. Throughout the 10 sessions, women will develop a deeper understanding of their emotional experiences and will be provided with some basic tools to manage these emotions more effectively.
Sessions are designed to meet a variety of learning styles, needs and use a combination of self-assessment, group discussion, and individual practice to explore the following topics:
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Emotional awareness
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Recognizing our physical responses to emotions
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Mindfulness and Relaxation
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Identifying our triggers
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Validating our emotions
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Conflict Resolution and Problem Solving Practices
Referrals are accepted to meet supervisory orders under the Department of Public Safety and the Alternative Measures Program. Self-Referrals are also accepted, pending space availability.
Workplace Essential Skills
Workplace Essential Skills (WES) is a program provided by Post-secondary Education Training and Labor (PETL) and is hosted at our location. Training is aimed at helping adults who are employed or seeking employment and require additional essential skills to succeed. It is also available to employers who are experiencing skilled labour shortages and in need of recruitment support. Courses are offered free of charge for adult residents of New Brunswick.
Learning activities focus on the specific tasks associated with either an individual’s current job or desired occupation. Training is customized to respond to the specific needs of the work environment.
Youth Employment Services
Youth Employment Services is a program for at-risk youth between the ages of 15 and 30 years. Over the course of 20 weeks, the at-risk youth will participate in group and individual academic training, work readiness training, and life coaching. Since 2004, Youth Employment Services have been very successful, with 75% of youth who use the services either returning to school or successfully obtaining a long term job.
The John Howard Society of Fredericton has run programs involving skill development and assistance in employment for many years, though some programs, such as the Youth Options Program, though very successful, were only available from 2003 to 2009, as there was a decrease in federal funding for the program during that time. During the years it was offered, the Youth Options Program had an astounding 94% success rate, with those involved successfully able to care for themselves.