ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Figures from Newfoundland and Labrador’s Justice Department show more than 14 per cent of inmates released from the province’s largest correctional facility have no address on file to go home to.
Twenty-one inmates at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary in St. John’s were released in the first six months of this year with no listed address, with 146 people in total leaving the facility over that time.
By comparison, 26 inmates were released from the penitentiary in all of 2019 with no fixed address.
Dan McGettigan, founder and director at rehabilitation non-profit Turnings in St. John’s, says many inmates who leave the facility are in worse physical and mental health than when they went in, and they’re confronted with higher rents and fewer affordable living situations.
He says community groups need to work with staff inside the jail to come up with plans to find inmates housing, income and proper supports when they are released.
In June, a manager at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary told a government committee that up to 82 per cent of inmates are there on pretrial detention with no fixed date to get out, and it’s difficult to plan for their exit.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
