The Elizabeth Fry Society of Simcoe County
Barrie, Ontario
A Dream Come True! by Paula King, Executive Director
The Elizabeth Fry Society of Simcoe County was started as the result of a dream between a parole officer and her client. They used to reminisce about how the City of Barrie had very little resources for women, especially women in conflict with the law. There was no Sexual Assault Centre and no shelter for abused women. The client had used the services of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Peel and had served some of her time in their halfway house. She was very impressed with the agency's services and commitment to women. As a result of their conversations and desire to make positive change, the two women started the Simcoe County Chapter in 1989.
With the support of the Women Teachers Federation, they organized the first board of directors and started programming in the local courts. With one employee and hundreds of hours of volunteer work, the organization grew and prospered. It now employs 13 staff including the parole officer, who quit her job and is now the Executive Director.
The dream of the co-founders was to have a halfway house within the first five years. It took six years, but it was up and running in 1995. However, six weeks later, the Ontario government closed all halfway houses in Ontario, opting for release under Electronic Monitoring. Five hundred men and women were arrested in the community and taken back into custody. Only 50 were released under E.M., while the balance stayed in jail. The government's effort to save money failed miserably!
Maple House, as the halfway house in Barrie is known, was kept open by offering housing to homeless women. Two years ago, Correctional Services Canada gave the agency a contract that made Maple House the only Community Residential Facility for federally sentenced women north of Toronto run by an Elizabeth Fry Society. Over the next few years, the beds grew to the current nine, but the number of women requesting service was overwhelming. As a result, the decision was made by board and staff to increase the beds to twenty-seven. Support was garnered from Canada Mortgage and Housing, the Simcoe County Alliance to End Homelessness, the City of Barrie, United Way, and other social service agencies. The plans have been drawn and the building permit is only three weeks away.
One of our great supporters has been the Canadian Alternative Investment Cooperative, who without their help and concern, this $1 million project would not have been possible. Through their intervention the agency was able to buy its current residence and obtain the needed mortgage. Beth Coates and Valerie Lemieux have assisted the agency throughout the whole process answering numerous questions and going out of their way to assist.
It is a known fact that Maple House has saved women's lives, whether they came from abusive situations, treatment centres, mental health facilities, correctional units or from the streets. Now, with the shovel in the ground in about a month, more women will be able to take advantage of Maple House and use their time to start afresh. Without CAIC, there would be no addition and renovation. Women would have died. Thanks CAIC, you're a lifesaver.
Website: www.elizabethfrysociety.com
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