Michaela De Curtis, program director of Circles of Support and Accountability's Ottawa branch, in Ottawa, on April 16.Keito Newman/The Globe and Mail
Michaela De Curtis knows her job could raise eyebrows. She helps rehabilitate sex offenders, even the most violent.
As program director at Ottawa’s Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) branch, she often works with formerly incarcerated people – some of whom have spent up to 40 years in prison.
“It’s not a popular topic and I am super aware of that,” Ms. De Curtis said. “But we can help people while they’re reintegrating into the community safely, or they can reoffend and go back into the system. Then we’ve created more harm versus stopping the cycle of violence.”
CoSA is a worldwide restorative justice program aimed at reintegrating sexual violence offenders into society after incarceration. Volunteers work with clients to address their needs, including obtaining identification cards, navigating public transit, finding employment and securing housing.
According to a 2018 study of branches in Minnesota, CoSA is up to 88 per cent effective at lowering the risk of rearrest for a sexual violence crime. But without more funding and support, Canada’s nine remaining CoSA sites are at risk of shutting down.
“It’s pretty stressful to see other sites across the country closing,” Ms. De Curtis said. “I want to support as many people as I possibly can, and I just don’t have that capacity because I don’t have sustainable funding.”
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Between 2017 and 2022, CoSA received about $7.4-million in non-renewable funding from Public Safety Canada’s Crime Prevention Action Fund. The agency has continued to provide less than $100,000 annually in grants to CoSA since then, but executive director Cliff Yumansky says it is not enough to sustain local operations.
Since 2022, at least six CoSA locations including Toronto, Halifax and two in Montreal have closed, and Mr. Yumansky says their remaining sites could be next.
“We still need their funding, there’s no question,” Mr. Yumansky said, adding that it costs about $125,000 to $150,000 to operate one CoSA site. “The bottom line is it’s not an easy sell … That’s always going to be an issue for us.”
“Public Safety Canada is supportive of the work of CoSA; the organization is often the only solution for people to access supports for community reintegration,” the agency wrote, adding that they have provided CoSA $15.2-million over the years.
CoSA executives also approached multiple provincial governments to seek additional funding, Mr. Yumansky said. So far, they have only been successful in New Brunswick, where a new CoSA site is set to open “very soon” in Moncton.
The Solicitor General of Ontario’s office said it has met with CoSA representatives, but the agency did not say whether it plans to fund Ontario’s CoSA sites.
“We will continue to work with community partners to deliver a coordinated response focused on prevention, protection, and enhanced supports for survivors,” a spokesperson wrote.
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Ottawa’s CoSA site, with about 50 volunteers helping 20 clients, has relied on fundraising events and local organizations, Ms. De Curtis said. But the Ottawa branch only has enough funding to operate for one more year.
“Some people are not able to enter the program because we have less capacity to provide the service,” she said.
CoSA clients could face double stigmatization as both formerly incarcerated individuals and sex offenders, according to University of Toronto sociology professor Chris Smith. Common feelings among these individuals include alienation, loneliness and fear of re-entering society.
“An organization like CoSA would be a very important support in a larger network providing direct services for this group,” Prof. Smith said.
Often, formerly incarcerated individuals are cut off from family and friends, and face difficulty finding employment, according to Saint Mary’s University criminal justice professor Allyn Walker. The CoSA program can help these individuals reintegrate and take accountability for their actions.
“People’s lives feel very dark, so having a support network, community and all of this can be a real motivator to keep people from engaging in violent behaviours,” Prof. Walker said. “When these individuals lack that kind of support network, that could be really dangerous for the community and broader society.”
For now, Ms. De Curtis will continue to help CoSA clients in Ottawa as best she can.
“We’re worried about keeping the doors open, but we’re also worried about supporting the clients,” she said. “If we’re not supporting the clients and then they are struggling, not doing well and reoffending, then the program is not successful anymore.”