Agency Helps Build Life Skills for Those on Fringe

CARING MATTERS

Published Thursday November 8th, 2007
Appeared on page B8

Aprison sentence can rip apart lives. It can leave the perpetrator without the support of friends and family and other social supports that help us to avoid repeating a mistake.

That's a very simple view of the cycle of crime which, in truth, is a very complex matter.

But one step in breaking the cycle is to put in place the support that can help a person turn around a life. That step is crucial, particularly at a point when that person's coping skills can't do it and they are without the listening ear or soft shoulder of a friend.

That's when the John Howard Society steps in.

The John Howard Society of Fredericton offers programs that help people who find themselves in that spot, people who must sometimes feel like the world has turned its back on them and all is hopeless.

The society's mandate is to help those considered at-risk - at risk of becoming homeless, at risk of re-offending, at risk in the world, those often referred to as "on the fringe of society." John Howard programs work with these people to give them the life skills many of us take for granted: money management; conflict resolution; family responsibilities.

Recently, I spoke with Valerie MacCullam, the society's executive director. She is passionate about the work they do.

She explained the society bases its programs on choice theory and experiential learning.

For example, if the rent is past due and you are about to be evicted, the society sees that as an opportunity to learn about choices and consequences.

It's real to the person at that moment, not hypothetical or in a classroom.

MacCullam says there's a social perception that all adults know how to behave, how to pay the rent, the bills, go to work, care for at least their own basic needs.

Many of those actions are a challenge to people who use the John Howard programs. These skills are learned behaviours.

Without appropriate role models in early life, many people cannot grasp how to handle these sorts of responsibilities.

MacCullam says choice theory lets someone take ownership of the situation and empowers them to make positive life choices. The society takes a backseat to the person's own feeling of responsibility.

"We act as friends," she said in explanation of the society's role in choice theory.

It's one of the challenges facing the voucher campaign for panhandlers - funded in part by the Fredericton Community Foundation - recently initiated by some downtown Fredericton merchants. The program paired panhandlers to perform tasks for a business person in return for vouchers for food or goods.

After the program began, one thing became evident.

There are two types of panhandling, the first by those who have made it a way of life. They are satisfied to panhandle to meet their basic needs and are not interested in change.

The second is a person who panhandles for more money to live on. This group is more likely to access the voucher campaign. They want to improve their situation and feel better about themselves. The program offers them an opportunity to feel valued and improve their feeling of self worth.

MacCullam said if you don't want to see panhandling, don't give. But we do, often for our own reasons such as feeling good about helping someone.

The key however, is to understand the panhandler instead of judging them.

Some people say what you should give a panhandler is the advice, "get a job." However, before making such a statement, we need to understand what brought that person to the streets and what is needed to move forward.

Before they get a job, they may need skills or a chance to feel good about who they are as a person. The John Howard Society gives them that chance.

Someone wise once said, "Never judge a man's actions until you know his motives." If we all lived by this quote, what a great world it would be.


Cindy Sheppard is the executive director of the Fredericton Community Foundation. She has worked in the non-profit sector for eight years. Her column will profile Fredericton's non-profit agencies.