If you’ve ever wondered what life is like inside the walls of the Dorchester prison, you’ll have a chance next week to see inside the institution and hear from people involved with it. The Citizens Advisory Committee attached to the Dorchester Penitentiary is hosting an Awareness Day event next Wednesday, November 8.
CHMA called up committee member and Sackville barber Jerry Hicks to find out more:
Citizens Advisory Committees (CACs) are attached to every prison in the country, says Hicks, on mandate from Correctional Services Canada. “We work with the inmates, we work with staff, we sometimes do mediation, and we find out what’s going on within the system,” says Hicks. “We’re just there almost as an advisory body or a watchdog,” says Hicks. “To be that sort of community voice.”
Hicks says the different members of the CAC are on different subcommittees tasked with keeping in touch with various aspects of the prison. “Part of my subcommittee work is to work directly with the inmate committee,” says Hicks, “so I meet with them regularly. I meet with the chaplain, I meet with the school, the teachers… Others would meet with the seniors at the prison, some would be with the Aboriginal group, the Black group.”
The idea behind the Awareness Day is to simply inform more people about what goes on at Dorchester Penitentiary. “I think what we’d like to see is for the public to have a better view of what what a prison looks like,” says Hicks. “It’s something that is very mysterious for a lot of people.”
The Dorchester Prison was first built in 1880 as a maximum security prison, but now operates medium and minimum security units. It’s also home to the Shepody Healing Centre, which serves male offenders with serious mental health conditions.
The day will involve morning tours of “almost every aspect of the prison,” says Hicks, and then in the afternoon, “a talk time where various folks speak to us about their role within the prison system.” He expects to hear from an inmate, security staff, the warden and a psychologist.
There are 30 spots in the open house with some still available. Hicks says the committee is inviting a cross section of people and will accept registrations until Monday. People can email Jerry Hicks at jerryezrahicks@gmail.com for more information.
