First of its kind Indigenous Diversion Centre opens in Prince George

This centre had a soft opening in July, but celebrated the official grand opening today, as it now offers services and supports for pre-charge and post-charge clients.

“We need to make sure that we don’t follow the past history of incarceration versus rehabilitation and all those things to help people get better,” said Minister of State for Community Safety and Integrated Services Terry Yung.

Diversion centres aren’t a new concept, but this new one stands out as it is solely focused on Indigenous people and Indigenous cultural practices, a service that all parties involved believe will greatly benefit the entire community. Offering programs and services to non-violent criminals, this diversion centre seeks to create a space for people to get out of the offending cycle.

“It’s completely voluntary, and it’s also very strict. A lot of people think it’s a get out of jail free card, but it’s not. It’s about holding somebody accountable and having them address their issues and the challenges that have led them to come in contact with the system.” said Chair of the B.C. First Nations Justice Council Kory Wilson.

“They can receive training and other culturally appropriate avenues, and all of that with the intent of reducing recidivism and, hopefully, to the point where it doesn’t occur anymore,” said Prince George RCMP Superintendent Darin Rappel.

Because the centre is focused on the Indigenous population, a significant aspect of the programs is cultural learning and healing, following Indigenous ways of knowing to reach out to clients and help them on their journey.

“The clinical and the ceremonial, or spiritual, if you will, have to work together. And I think that’s the part that’s been missing until this program came along. We married the two,” said Lheidli T’enneh Elder Marcel Gagnon.

“We have to address the fact that in Prince George here, only 16% of people are Indigenous, but over 60% of the incarcerated people are from the same community. Frankly, those numbers are not acceptable, and we need to do something about it,” Yung added,

The pre-charge programs offer people a chance to have their charges dropped, should they commit to a 90-day program. It’s through programs like this, among others, that the centre hopes to greatly reduce the risk of reoffending criminals and give people the care they need.

“We can’t arrest our way out of people being homeless. We can’t arrest our way out of having people mentally not well, we need to get them to help and assistance. And more importantly, we have to give them hope,” Yung said.

Because the centre had a soft opening in July, it already has 20 people using its programs. When asked about the centre’s capacity, Wilson didn’t have a hard number, but anticipated there will be wait times.

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by Tommy Osborne

First of its kind Indigenous Diversion Centre opens in Prince George

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