Staff of the John Howard Society of Toronto

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Our Mission : new mission statement Making our community safer by supporting the rehabilitation and re-integration of those who have been in conflict with the law. Message From the President In times of economic downturn the challenges facing our clients become that much more difficult to overcome. It is probably not a coincidence that in a year that saw the world in an economic crisis the John Howard Society of Toronto worked with a record number of clients. I must start off by thanking our Board of Directors, our donours, our volunteers and our staff for all working that much harder so that we could serve those in need. This past year saw the Board and Management undertake the development and implementation of a very comprehensive three year plan. We must thank all the peer-agencies, clients and staff who participated in this. We wanted as much input as we could receive to best decide our priorities for 2009 through 2011. We undertook focus groups in the jails, on-line surveys and individual interviews with many of our stakeholders. This process allowed us as an agency to undertake advanced risk-management training for all staff and board; to identify our need for improved office facilities and to prioritize the work we do in building community safety. We had many successes, including: • The operation of our two Toronto Drug Treatment Court Transitional houses resulted in the success of Drug Court clients increasing from 14% to 62%. This is now the highest success rate in Canada; • The establishment of our Neighbourhood Engagement project that works towards building community safety in the Jane & Falstaff and Lansdowne & Bloor neighbourhoods; • The continued work done by our Post-Incarceration Housing team in assisting almost 100 men in accessing permanent accommodation; • The huge growth in our Choices Domestic Assault program that resulted in John Howard working with 420 men and their partners in addressing family violence issues; • Our thrice-weekly presence at each of the Toronto Detention centres where we deliver both individual and group counseling sessions and assisted over 1,000 men in their post-release planning; • The continued growth of our volunteer program. In particular, I must acknowledge the leadership and hard work of our Volunteer and Institutional Team Leader, Vanessa Adel who has been the catalyst of this growth and commitment; • Our continued commitment to the Justice on Target program where our staff provide sanction options to first time offenders at the 2201 and 1000 Finch Courts; and • The continued commitment by our staff towards the provision of addictions services and harm reduction techniques for our clients in an innovative and dedicated manner (see the Presidents Award). This past year was not without its difficulties as well. We lost one of our staff, Elisabeth Pike, to a sudden terminal illness in December. This came as a sad shock to everyone. Also, like most other non-profit, charitable organizations we faced stiff challenges in fundraising. We are very grateful to our donours and very much appreciate your contributions during these times. 2 www.johnhowardtor.on.ca
I would like to thank our funders for believing in us. We consider the responsibility of delivering our programs and services to be a scared trust. Our clients and our community deserve the best we can provide. I would like to thank my fellow Board Members for their hard work and sense of commitment. Undertaking a comprehensive strategic plan is never easy and our team rose to the challenge. I’d like to thank our Management team of Greg Rogers, Lois Powers, Bernice Lartey, Amber Kellen, Perry Sabourin, Donna Read and Vanessa Abel for their on-going efforts to improve the effectiveness and reach of our programs. The staff deserve all our gratitude for their daily initiative and effort to assist those in need. Finally, a special thank you to our many volunteers for your interest in making Toronto a better and safer place to live. Robert MacLellan (Board President) The Presidents Award The Presidents Award honours a staff member who has made a significant contribution to our clients, our agency and our community. The award is peer driven as the nominees are put forward by staff and voted upon by staff. The winner for 2008/2009 is Peter Markwell, who is our Harm- Reduction Addictions Worker. Peter is extremely devoted to assisting our clients who face addictions issues. He has developed and initiated various innovative programs and techniques to benefit those in need. In particular, his weekly delivery of our Relapse Prevention Group Counselling session has proven to be very successful with both our clients and numerous referral agencies around the city, including Probation and Parole. Peter is a tireless advocate and will go far out of his way to assist anybody in crisis. He leads by example and we are very proud to have him on our team. We congratulate Peter and thank him for all his hard work. Job well done, Mr. Markwell!! 3
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Staff of the John Howard Society of Toronto

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