Justice in the community
John Howard Society settling into new Truro location
Seeing people make positive change in their life and move forward is the biggest reward of the job for Christina King.
She is the director of the central region for The John Howard Society of Nova Scotia, which recently marked Restorative Justice Week (Nov. 19-26).
“Once this type of work takes a hold of you there’s no letting go,” she said. “I’ve been doing this type of work since 1989 and I still enjoy it.”
King first started working in the justice field through a job development grant, doing administrative work. She went on to become a case worker, a case work supervisor, and now a director.
“Nova Scotia is the only province in Canada to have a restorative justice program for both youth and adults, funded by the provincial government,” she noted.
The youth program has been operating since 1999. The adult program, which has been in existence since November 2016, is shared between agencies and Correctional Services.
King explains that restorative justice is about people taking responsibility, repairing harm and getting the help they need to move forward in a more positive direction. The John Howard Society provides counselling, programming, education, encouragement, connections to agencies, and arranges community service work.
Wanda Dickie (case worker) and Sarah Rogers (administrative support and community case worker) work at the Truro office with King.
Stacey Dort, who is the new executive director for the agency province-wide, recently dropped by to join staff at an open house for their new location at 1019 Prince St., Suite A.