Concurrent Sessions

Brain Injury (BI) is overrepresented among criminal-legal populations. However, little is known about how individuals with BI experience and manage court-mandated supervision conditions, or how criminal-legal professionals set and enforce conditions in practice.

We will report the findings and recommendations from the first comprehensive qualitative study at the intersection of brain injury and community supervision. The presentation will overview challenges of conditions in the context of brain injury and interactions with criminal-legal professionals. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of BI-responsive approaches to setting and enforcing conditions.

Discover how Prosper, a throughcare reintegration program by Amadeusz, supports young adults facing firearm-related charges. Grounded in community, research, and culturally responsive care, Prosper addresses complex needs and systemic barriers—showcasing an innovative model that empowers individuals and transforms justice outcomes from incarceration to community.

With gun crime in Canada becoming a growing concern, The HUB commits to supporting the community with local violence reduction strategies. Our presentation will encompass best practices when implementing collaborative approaches to working with those at the center of gun and gang violence, both from an academic and frontline perspective.

Personal story of my journey through addiction and incarceration with a focus on the early interventions and support services that added to the successful transition from conflict with law to working frontline in the justice sector.

This will be a live talk delivery with an accompanying slide show presentation focusing on different stages of my journey. With a Q & A for the last 15 minutes and interactive chat with help from a moderator.

Can co-design improve your project and outcomes? Yes! Through project review, data, and storytelling, we explore CMHA Hamilton’s co-design of Stepped Care 2.0 model of care change responding to the extensive wait list for Intensive Case Management and created more flexible options for those living with mental health and addictions.

The presentation will be a Power Point presentation. OFIFC staff will describe the program and how it links broader criminal justice policy priorities (e.g., self-determination, reducing over-representation and recidivism). The presentation will also describe the impact that the program has had on the community, (re)directing urban Indigenous youth away from the criminal justice system, and self-determination.

Individuals in custody have higher rates of trauma, mental illness, substance use, and complex health needs than in the community. The Ministry of the Solicitor General (SOLGEN) recognizes innovative programs are needed to support and care for the population, promoting successful reintegration and preventing reincarceration. There is substantial research that demonstrates how mindfulness-based interventions improve mental and physical health. Implementing mindfulness-based programs into correctional institutions has been shown to reduce recidivism by targeting antisocial attitudes, decision-making, problem-solving skills, self-regulation skills, substance abuse and promoting resilience.

• Path of Freedom facilitator Community of Practice
• Guided mindfulness practice (with session participant engagement)
• Questions and Answer

Karen created a video called This is Addiction which depicted 184 drawings of people impacted by addiction. They are of children, parents, and people who are suffering from addiction and those impacted by others who are addicted. I created this because I kept seeing that this picture was missing from most of the conferences I attended. When we do not look at all aspects of the problem then we fail to get the solution right. When we hide the real impact then are we really being honest? Why are we hiding this? Why did Harm Reduction become the treatment of choice?

Cota will provide an overview of the mental health and justice programs they offer in downtown Toronto, and highlight a few (anonymized) client stories to illustrate both, the complexity and intensity of the target population’s needs, and how the staff navigate limited resources to provide support and foster their recovery. Photos of their program spaces and narratives from their service demographic will be used.

An overview of Community Justice Coordinators (CJCs) – a new, community-drive justice approach that works to improve individual outcomes, reduce risk of reoffending, improve court efficiencies, and promote community safety.

Discover how CRCL, a community-led and provincially supported crisis response model in B.C., delivers timely, in-person support for individuals in mental health crisis. This session explores CRCL’s growth, provincially scalable design, and the vital role of lived experience in transforming crisis care within B.C.’s distinct social and policy landscape.

This session will share examples of courts turning to community experts and their first-hand lived experiences to make the local justice system more fair and equitable. We will detail three models of community engagement that uplift the voices of those most affected, including advisory boards, peer navigators, and community surveys.

This session explores systemic barriers that justice-involved Black and Indigenous individuals face and highlights innovative approaches to reintegration. Attendees will gain insights into the power of peer mentorship, skill-building, and community partnerships in reducing recidivism. Real-world success stories and best practices will provide actionable solutions for practitioners and policymakers.

The Métis Community Diversion Program began in 2018 as a response to a legal-needs assessment, showing that Indigenous justice service providers lacked awareness and recognition of Métis rights and identity. This caused significant barriers for Métis people in Ontario to access justice services, demonstrating the need for Métis-lead justice programs.

Inside Out is a wraparound solution-focused culturally relevant social transformation program designed to invigorate and empower Black individuals involved with the Criminal Justice System to make sustainable positive change in their lives. The program is designed to reduce recidivism, augment social emotional learning, prepare individuals for employment, education, entrepreneurship, training, build resilience, impart life skills; improve leadership skills, provide mentorship, enhance communication skills, and build on community relationships.

The Clinical Justice Program offers a unique, clinical approach to supporting individuals with complex needs that find themselves involved with the criminal justice system as a victim, witness or accused. Case studies and digital/printable resources will be provided to promote individualized approaches and inclusive access to the criminal justice system.

The Pathway Project, an integrated response model whereby an addiction specialist and dedicated OPP officer work in partnership to provide a pre or post charge intervention and transitional care to those living with addictions within the City of Dryden and surrounding area.

Brain injury (BI) is 95% among women in the criminal-legal-system, often related to intimate partner violence. There are no BI-focused interventions for Ontario-based women on bail. BI limits ability to read understand remember legal language and court orders detailing bail conditions. We describe a unique Court Navigator Program for women with BI.

Learn how important peer support is to ones mental health, and how easy it is to create a peer support network. Listen to someone with lived-experience who took the “lemons” of depression and turned them into a “lemonade” to help others.

York Regional Police have launched a new innovative wellness dashboard which seeks to inform members on their respective wellness by providing members (police officers and civilians) a way to track their well being based on call experiences and their work-life balance.

This session explores the Provincial HSJCC’s Anti-Racism Framework, offering practical strategies to embed anti-racist practices the human services and justice sectors. Learn how to meaningfully engage with Black, Indigenous, and Racialized communities, leverage advocacy, and use race-based data to drive change. Gain key insights and lessons learned to create more equitable and inclusive systems.

This presentation describes a digital storytelling project carried out with young adults from Ontario and Alberta. Participants’ stories provided insights typically absent from cannabis research, treatment and policy discussions. A significant outcome was the co-creation of a supportive community that principles of peer support to life.

JFCY is a community partner in research being conducted by Dr. Daniella Bendo (King’s University College at Western), Dr. Christine Goodwin-De Faria (Trent University Durham), Dr. Dale Spencer (Carleton University), Voula Marinos (Brock University), Nathan Innocente (University of Toronto Mississauga), and Brenda Morrison (Simon Fraser University). The presentation will present evidence-based research findings of the experience of neurodiverse justice involved youth in Ontario and the extent to which their rights are appropriately protected and advanced by counsel, the court and the services engaged. The presentation will discuss the research findings and how to best implement rights-based protections for this vulnerable population.

Reincarceration rates among individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) remain disproportionately high, driven by a complex interplay of individual vulnerabilities and systemic barriers across mental health, social care, and criminal justice systems. This presentation addresses high reincarceration rates among people with serious mental illness (SMI). It includes findings from a Toronto cohort study identifying key risk factors for return to custody, and presents an innovative community mental health service, the Forensic Early Intervention Service Community Team, designed to support individuals with SMI transitioning from correctional facilities to the community.

Finding Home is an innovative community action initiative currently active in Peterborough that was designed to address a rise of unit takeovers, both hostile and housing.  Three unique and distinct agencies have joined with one another in response, creating an allied network of service delivery, knowledge, resources, and values.  Direct service delivery and resources are shared between One City Peterborough, Community Counselling and Resource Centre, and Canadian Mental Health Association Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge.  This evolving community approach streamlines a supportive response to tenancy preservation by optimizing resources and focusing on community connectedness.

Housing Unit Takeover (HUT) interventions are complex, requiring incredible confidence in teammates to address safety, risk mitigation, rapid rapport and resource delivery.  During interventions, system navigation, survival gear and advocacy are most commonly provided to both tenant and guest within the dynamic. It is imperative to the Finding Home Program that the guest involved in the HUT is offered as much support as the tenant being affected. Most times, a HUT has occurred due to unmet needs from either the guest or tenant and the connected agencies aim to address those needs during and after the intervention has occurred.

As a collaborative community based program, our objective is to share our learning and development over the past few years through case studies and review of our service provider handbook.  Housing Unit Takeovers are an ever growing risk in Ontario which have prompted responses in various communities who continue to build upon one another in effort to seek efficient, effective responses.

The Prison Health Research Council (PHRC) is a collaborative council dedicated to improving healthcare access, outcomes, and policies for incarcerated populations. Our mission is to drive evidence-based and community-based research that addresses the unique health challenges faced by individuals in correctional settings, including mental health, chronic diseases, infectious diseases, and substance use disorders, and many other complex health concerns of those incarcerated. Researchers often include people with lived experience of incarceration as research subjects/participants, however, people who experience incarceration are often systematically excluded from leading and collaborating on research. Including people whom research is about can make the work more appropriate, valid, and ethical.

A Research Council of people who had experienced incarceration was established, including from populations that are over-represented, creating a space where Council members could drive the direction of the Council and prison health research.

The Council works towards ameliorating the systemic exclusion of people with lived experience of incarceration from research through reflecting the needs, priorities, and issues of people who experience incarceration. This work holds relevance to academia, community orgs or other researchers, in other jurisdictions who want to bring voice, power, and opportunities to the people whom their research is about.

The trans and gender diverse community experience a revolving door of crisis on a community level due to higher rates of housing instability/insecurity, mental health and substance use, and a lack of appropriate and accessible community supports. You will be exposed to what the “revolving door of crisis” from a community level looks like. They will then come to understand contributing factors specific to the trans/gender diverse community that maintain this cycle through a slide deck of qualitative/quantitative examples and case studies.

There was a service gap for low-risk clients who were charged with minor sexual /sexually motivated offence(s) or were on probation for such offences. Such clients were not eligible for sexual offender programs offered by mental health facilities, such as CAMH. However, courts recommends that such clients engage in some counselling programs while they are waiting for their trials or serving probation. A 10-week Problematic Sexual Behavior Therapeutic Interventions (PSB-TI) is designed for persons who have come in conflict with the law due to problematic sexual behavior (PSB) and need help in managing urges, emotions, thoughts, and developing healthy sexuality/sexual behavior.

Using psychoeducation and psychotherapeutic approaches, the PSB-TI covered areas such as consent, boundaries, unhealthy sexual behavior, what constitutes problematic sexual behavior (PSB) as per the Canadian laws and help develop awareness and skills to self-regulate and manage PSB effectively.