Wellness garden adorned by inmate-made pieces
Correctional Officers Week marked by opening of facility, showing of prison’s woodworking program
Outside the prison walls the workmanship of some of its inmates can be seen these days in the solid, brown picnic tables at Pippy Park, colourful and comfortable Adirondack chairs in downtown St. John’s and solid, sturdy oak tables and desks over which testimony and argument are made at public inquiries and in courtrooms.
Inside the walls of Her Majesty’s Penitentiary (HMP) in St. John’s, the woodworking shop is a sought-after privilege among inmates. Other than building picnic tables, chairs and desks for community organizations and government facilities, the inmates of the woodworking shop help with repairs and painting to cells and other areas of the aged and battered institution on the shore of Quidi Vidi Lake in St. John’s.
The latest project to feature pieces made inside the prison’s workshop is a new wellness garden for prison staff, just outside the facility. In a small grassy area among tall trees, picnic tables, Adirondack chairs and flower boxes make a comforting space available for correctional officers to enjoy a break.
The wellness garden was officially opened and dedicated on Thursday as part of Corrections Week — a week that acknowledges the contribution of correctional staff in promoting rehabilitation and safer communities — and Mental Health Week.
Jenny Dyall, employee wellness and attendance support manager for adult custody in the province, said having such an area where correctional officers can relax for a few minutes on a nice day is important.
“Corrections personnel know very well and understand the risks and challenges associated with the work they do,” Dyall said. “Yet every day they come here with commitment and determination to maintain public safety and assist in the rehabilitation of offenders. Some days on the job are more challenging than others. So, our wellness committee thought that it would be important to create a space on these grounds where employees can come for a few minutes, to sit in the fresh air when we are lucky enough to have a (nice day) … to meditate or reflect, or do some breathing exercises. And these things are also important for our mental health.”
Media were given a look at the carpenter’s shop inside the prison where the chairs, picnic table and flower boxes were constructed by inmates and correctional officers.
The building that houses the woodworking shop is an old, two-storey stone building in the heart of the prison, whose second floor once contained the prison’s school. The school is now located in another part of the prison.
Inside the woodworking shop — which had been tidied up for Thursday’s event — there are nearly completed new picnic tables for Pippy Park, an oak table and dresser, and part of a new judge’s bench that will be ready to be installed in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court Family Division when that court moves to its new location in the Argyle Building on Portugal Cove Road.
Correctional officers Steve Martin and Andy Codner supervise and guide the inmates chosen to work in the carpentry shop.
“We guide them along with the different projects we do. We’ve had inmates here that are really good at woodworking and can basically do anything you ask them to do,” Codner said. “Some other inmates may need some guidance, but the majority that come here do have some carpentry or wood-working skills.”
Inmates permitted to work in the carpentry shop have to go through classification and attendance screening before being cleared to work in the shop. Usually only minimumsecurity inmates are accepted.
“The effort they are putting into it, it shows that they have pride in what they are doing,” Martin said. “It takes stress off them from being up in the units. Lots of times they don’t want to go back for lunch, they’d rather stay here.”
The carpentry shop has been operating at the prison as long as anyone can remember. This is evident by some of the old hand tools present there that you’d more likely see in a museum. From old squares and hand drills, to screwdrivers and chisels, they are just as much a part of the carpentry shop as the modern table saws and electric drills.
Martin and Codner say there is a lot of interest shown by inmates to try to get selected for the carpentry shop.
“It all has a positive impact on inmates. They enjoy it,” Codner said. “It doesn’t feel like they are in jail, they say, that it is just like getting up and going to work. Come down and do your work and just have a regular day.”
Minister of Justice and Public Safety Andrew Parsons said it is important to acknowledge the work correctional officers do.
“I’ve always had an appreciation for what correctional officers do, but that appreciation, especially the last couple of years, has grown much deeper by being down here and being able to get more into the day-today of what goes on inside these facilities,” Parsons said. “We all know about the hard work that happens here, but the involvement that our correctional officers have out in the community, whether its coaching or volunteering, even with a job like this they go above and beyond to contribute to the community.”
Jerry Earle, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE), said the work of frontline corrections workers is not often highlighted, being overshadowed by popular issues related to health care or education.
“The women and men here, it is important corrections officers be recognized for the invaluable contribution they make behind the walls here and the others across the province and into Labrador,” Earle said.
“It’s Correctional Officers Week and Mental Health Week, and to have a space like (the wellness garden), you need space to be able to step away and take some personal time for your own mental health. That is critical in this type of work and in any work you do.”