Addiction treatment program expanding to Saskatoon jail
An intensive five-week addiction intervention program already operating at three of Saskatchewan's adult jails will launch at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre next Monday.
The Dedicated Substance Abuse Treatment Unit program will begin with an intake of 25 inmates.
It involves behavioural therapy, and focuses on goal setting, problem solving and relapse prevention.
The program, a partnership between the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, Ministry of Health and Saskatchewan Health Authority, has units in operation at the Regina Correctional Centre, Prince Albert Correctional Centre and Pine Grove Correctional Centre.
The expansion of the program to the Saskatoon jail is being welcomed by Shawn Fraser, John Howard Society of Saskatchewan's chief executive officer.
“The only challenge is the demand for this is so much greater than the number of beds available,” Fraser said on Monday.
The program was first implemented at the Regina Correctional Centre in 2008.
A study published in the Journal of Community Safety & Well-being analyzing the program's effectiveness in Regina over a seven-year period, found, among other things, that people who participated in the program were less likely to reoffend and return to jail within six months, and within a year of being released. The study looked at data from 2008-09 to 2014-15.
According to the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, 78 inmates completed the program in 2021 at the Regina jail, and approximately 470 completed the program there between 2017 and 2021. Last year, 54 women completed the program at Pine Grove, while 48 men completed the program at the Prince Albert jail.
As of April 19, the wait-list to get into the program in Regina had 89 people on it, while the wait-lists at Pine Grove and Prince Albert had five and two people on them respectively.
Fraser said two key things that would help toward a goal of zero recidivism are the availability of addictions treatment and access to housing after being released into the community post-sentence.
“We urge people to keep in mind that the resources available right now are really a drop in the bucket for what's needed,” Fraser said
He added this should be recognized as a positive step, but there are many more steps ahead to ensure there are resources for incarcerated people to help make sure when they're released they don't return to jail.
The program is part of the overall Gang Violence Reduction Strategy to reduce gang involvement and gang-related violence in Saskatchewan.
Other parts include a community intervention model, crime reduction teams, a gang-focused information sharing hub for police, and a special prosecutor focused on gang-related files.