The Perth Courthouse on Drummond St.
At 6:10pm, on a chilly late November evening, a man walked into The Table asking to be directed to the local shelter. The staff he met with shared that there is no shelter in Lanark County. He appeared bewildered and stated that he had just been released from Court in Perth after spending time in the Brockville Jail. He was released from the court without money, phone or a winter coat.
A resident of Kingston he shared that he had had money in his bank account, but was unable to access it as he had been arrested without his phone or wallet. After being released from the court building in Perth he decided all he could do was walk south and try to hitchhike back to Kingston. He quickly realized how cold it was and was afraid that he might freeze in attempts to make it home.
Fortunately, he happened to walk past The Table, which though in the process of tidying up from the Community Meal, was still open. Despite it being closing time The Table’s Social Justice and Advocacy Coordinator stayed to assist him by connecting him with the Lanark County Victim Services through their after-hours emergency line. They provided him with a taxi to Kingston.
A volunteer who was part of the response to this individual mentioned that they had crossed paths with another man months earlier, who had also been released by the court in Perth and also wasn’t from Perth. He had been released without any shoes and was wandering around Last Duel Park equally bewildered not knowing where to turn to, or how to get home.
The Table had not had much contact with the local court or recent released individuals previously and we didn’t know if these were isolated incidents or reflected a serious gap in local services. After making a brief investigation we determined that there was indeed a serious lack of post-release supports at the Perth courthouse. This gap was a serious safety concern for the releasees, for the community as a whole and seemed likely to encourage recidivism rather than setting released individuals up with the best chance to move forward and succeed. While it was something outside of our current scope of work we thought there was an important opportunity to raise this issue with other agencies that work more closely with the justice system.
From November to April The Table’s Social Justice and Advocacy Coordinator, Stephanie Corrin, convened representatives from a broad spectrum of service agencies to look at this issue. The group included Lanark County Community Justice, RNJ Youth Services, the Town of Perth, Victim Services, Lanark County Mental Health, John Howard Society, Salvation Army, Ministry of the Solicitor General, and the Lanark County Situation Table. Throughout the process we made it clear that The Table was taking a short term convening role and expected other agencies to take the lead in actually addressing the service gap. Thankfully this strategy worked and other agencies came forward with helpful information and resources. Through our connections with the Roots Community Food Centre in Thunder Bay we connected with work there to create a Community Reintegration Planning Table.
Through these efforts communication between the agencies greatly improved and positive actions taken. Lanark Community Justice took the lead on drafting a Release from Custody Plan and Lanark County Mental Health offered to take over the project in April 2024. They are providing storage for clothing and also offer releasees a grocery card. Duty Counsel and the Crown Attorney now know to let Lanark County Mental Health know if someone is released from custody and in need of basic, short term supports.
By being open and inquisitive, and not accepting the status quo, The Table helped convene a group of the right agencies to effectively close this serious gap in services in our community. We appreciate the willingness of everyone involved to come together to find these collective solutions. It’s a great example of the collaborative method that agencies in Lanark County do so well.
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