Innovative Program Changing Lives For VIU Students And Nanaimo Correctional Centre Inmates

Inside-Out program opens doors to new ways of learning with transformative results 

When fourth year Vancouver Island University (VIU) Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Criminology student Jason Harms signed up for his program, he didn’t realize that one of his courses would be taking place inside a jail and that he’d be discussing challenging ideas and concepts with inmates. Thanks to a one of a kind program called Inside-Out, which sees VIU students and inmates taking a course together, that’s exactly what happened. And the learning that’s going on inside the walls of the Nanaimo Correctional Centre (NCC) is going far beyond what the students are reading about in their textbooks.

VIU Criminology professors Joanne Falvai and Elizabeth McLin were responsible for bringing this innovative program to VIU. For many years the professors had been incorporating a visit to the NCC for their upper-level Criminology students.

“The visit was only for three hours and we recognized the incredible impact that short amount of time had on our students,” says Falvai. “When I heard about the Inside-Out program at a conference and realized our students could actually be taking a credit course with inmates, I knew we had to do it.”

The program was founded almost 20 years ago in the United States at Philadelphia’s Temple University. The concept spread to Canada in 2011 and with support from VIU and a generous grant from the Vancouver Foundation, Falvai and McLin went through the complex process of creating the program at VIU, making it the fifth one in Canada.

It was agreed the class would be made up of 30 students – 15 from the VIU Criminology program; 15 from Guthrie House,  a therapeutic community at the NCC that provides an intensive residential addiction treatment program for inmates, or “residents” as they are referred to once admitted to the program. Guthrie House helps residents discover the root causes of their addiction and gives them a chance at a new beginning. With everything in place the first group of students met at the NCC on January 4, 2016 to begin their course in ‘Social Exclusion and Marginalization’. The experience has been beyond the expectations of everyone involved.

“This program is changing lives like nothing I’ve ever been involved in before,” said McLin. “Student perceptions are being transformed around the possibilities they see in themselves and each other.”

Falvai is in full agreement. “This program is about giving people the opportunity to see themselves differently. It gives someone who has had challenges and barriers put in front of them all their lives a chance to see themselves in a way they never imagined – as intelligent, valuable, law-abiding citizens with a responsibility to stay sober for themselves, their loved ones and their communities. It’s the most powerful learning I’ve witnessed.”

Leanne Kristofferson is the Deputy Warden at NCC. She says the inmates have truly become ‘university students’ and feel like equals in the classroom.

“It’s such a positive experience for them as most of the men at the NCC never thought they could become university students. But, they truly are. They contribute in each class, study diligently in between sessions and help each other. They even have group study sessions on weekends!” she says. “The nervousness and fear that some felt prior to the course beginning has dissipated and positive feelings have taken the place of any trepidation. They are proud of themselves and we are proud of them.”

One of the ‘inside’ students reflected about the impact the program is having in his life saying how privileged he felt to be a part of it. “As a result of this program, I’m growing not just as a student but as a father and a peer. I now know that I can be a positive contributor to whatever I choose to become involved in. In part due to this program, I’ve rediscovered my voice, the strength it gives me and, ultimately, the responsibility that goes with it. For this, I am above all else, grateful.”

The VIU students have been just as impacted by the program. They are studying alongside the types of people whom they may have very different relationships with in the future when they move into careers as parole officers and police. McLin says the result of their involvement in the course has been an exponential growth in their empathy and understanding.

“They are coming away with a lived experience of the very real challenges that people face in their lives and a deeper understanding about the type of challenges that result in finding themselves in a place like the Nanaimo Correctional Centre.”

Harms says the Inside-Out class has been transformative for many of the VIU students. “Any imagined barriers that I may have thought existed between myself and those at Guthrie House before joining the class quickly evaporated once I got to know my new classmates. The sharing of ideas and perspectives made me realize just how similar we all are and how narrow a line separates those on the inside from those on the outside."

The course has been carefully constructed so the students learn in a circle and in groups that are equally balanced between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ students. This has resulted in the creation of a safe, supportive learning space where all of the students are completely committed to each other and the experience of the course. Falvai and McLin worked hard to design the learning environment this way so that everyone felt comfortable, particularly as the course material covers a number of sensitive and challenging topics including – poverty, mental health, addiction and sexual orientation.

“Through partnerships with post-secondary institutions, BC Corrections continues to provide inmates with a chance to build their knowledge and expand their educational opportunities before they transition out of custody,” said Mike Morris, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. “Programs like this are building blocks to crime-free futures and safer communities.”

The course is coming to an end in April and some of the inmates are talking about continuing to pursue their education once they leave the NCC. Many of the VIU students are looking towards convocation and continuing further studies or starting their careers. Whatever their next steps, all of them will be taking the experience of this course with them.

“As someone who wants to enter the criminal justice field, this experience has been invaluable,” says Samantha Bishop, who is graduating from VIU in June with a BA in Criminology. “I’ve laughed; I’ve cried; I’ve been angry; and I’ve learned so much about myself. More importantly I’ve come to understand, from a new perspective, a population I have never interacted with before and it’s challenged me to reconsider the very causes of crime.”

Falvai and McLin are now focused on finishing up the classes, getting through what they feel will be an emotional graduation ceremony where everyone will be saying goodbye to each other, and then planning for the next life-changing course which will start in January, 2017 with a new group of ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ students.

For more information on the Inside-Out program email Joanne Falvai at joanne.falvai@viu.ca.

 - 30-

MEDIA CONTACT:  Dane Gibson, Communications Officer, Vancouver Island University

P: 250.740.6288 E: Communications@viu.ca T: @viunews