Regardless of the length of the sentence, over 90% of incarcerated people will one day leave a detention facility. These people will eventually reintegrate our communities and become our neighbours. It is important to think of the type of support and guidance they should receive to reintegrate their community.

According to the Association des services de réhabilitation sociale du Québec (ASRSQ), social reintegration is the best way to protect our community from criminality in the long term. It is therefore to bring awareness to this process and to get people talking about it in the public space that the ASRSQ decided to create the Social Reintegration Week.

Generally, police and jail often are the institutions associated with our safety. However, halfway houses, specialized employability services, work options programs, as well as services in mental health, addiction, restorative justice or sexual offending treatment, all contribute to prevent reoffending by assisting the reintegration of the offender population. They therefore are essential pillars for the safety of our communities.

To fully reintegrate an offender, we must act on the social, community and personal dimensions of their human condition.

Three objectives of social reintegration:

Social and community reintegration (through programs specialized in home care, employability, addiction, monitoring compliance with release conditions, etc.)
Personal development (through specialized programs designed to improve social skills, parental abilities, etc.)
Reconciliation (through restorative justice programs, for instance)

Once offenders reintegrate society and contribute to the development of their communities, they work, live their lives and do not necessarily want to be displayed publicly. However, in our network, we know that most people who obtain our services do not return to detention. In fact, according to Public Safety Canada, “The rate of violent reoffending on federal full parole supervision periods has been relatively low in the last five years, averaging 0.4%.”

Social Reintegration Week is also an occasion to celebrate the efforts of the workers who, more often than not, work in the shadows. Failures of social reintegration are often highlighted, while successes are only modestly celebrated. Indeed, it is very rare that media will present successful social reintegration stories, but it is not because they do not exist. It is in fact to counterbalance this reality that the Cabaret de la seconde chance was created, organized by the ASRSQ as part of the Social Reintegration Week. Here, talented people are exposed, not for the infractions they have committed, but for the positive and inspiring actions they realize today.

https://asrsq.ca/en/cabaret-se...

(Reference: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/ccrso-2019/index-en.aspx#d9)

Important dates:

September 17, 2018 – City of Montreal

The City of Montreal unanimously adopts a motion to officially recognize the Social Reintegration Week.

This resolution recognizes the necessity to give a second chance for people to reintegrate our communities with the adequate guidance. During this Week, all 63 member organizations of the ASRSQ, which provide services to more than 35,000 people in the judiciary system each year in the province of Quebec, organized around 20 events throughout the province to destigmatize social reintegration.
October 8, 2019 – National Assembly

The National Assembly officially recognizes the Social Reintegration Week.

This motion “asserts that social reintegration is the best way to diminish risks of reoffending from offenders and therefore protects our community.” In this motion, the National Assembly recognizes “the precious contribution of the ASRSQ, which, through its 63 community organizations and 2 coalitions, actively participates to the social and community reintegration of offenders.”

To consult

Get involved with the Social Reintegration Week

The social reintegration of offenders in a society matter and is everyone’s business.

Here is what you can do during Social Reintegration Week:

It is a great opportunity to learn more on the social reintegration of offenders.
Support the organizations in your community.
Participate in initiatives already in place to help bring awareness.
Develop initiatives meant to reaffirm the importance of the social and community reintegration of offenders, as well as the crucial role community plays in that process.

To learn more on the initiatives of our members, follow us on Facebook!

To spread the word on your social media platforms, please us the #RehabWeek created for the occasion.

If you have questions or project ideas, do not hesitate to contact us at info@asrsq.ca