Evaluation report on A New Day: Men’s healing program released

YELLOWKNIFE (November 23, 2016) – The Minister of Justice has released the evaluation report on the “A New Day: Men’s Healing Program”. This report will be used to assist the Department in making adjustments to the program in order to improve outcomes for men who are working to stop using abusive behaviours.

Although the current contract for the program ends on December 31, 2016, the funding is ongoing. In order to provide continuity during this transition phase, the Department has initiated discussions with the current service provider for provision of services for the ‘A New Day’ program to June 30, 2017.

During this extension time period, the Department of Justice will use lessons learned from the three-year pilot program to inform the development of a long-term program and its delivery. The program was developed by the Department of Justice for men who have made the decision to take responsibility and change behaviours in their intimate relationships.

The Government of Northwest Territories remains committed to stop the damage caused by family violence in our homes and in our communities.

Justice Minister Louis Sebert will be available via teleconference for questions from the media on Wednesday, November 23, 2016, at 11:30 a.m. MST. Please contact Andrew Livingstone, Senior Communications Advisor, for call-in information via e-mail at andrew_livingstone@gov.nt.ca.

Quotes

“We must ensure this program is meeting the needs of those men who want to learn alternatives to using violence in their relationships. For each man who makes the change to more peaceful solutions, we know we will see less domestic offences. We remain committed as a government to addressing and responding to family violence.”

– Louis Sebert, Minister of Justice

Quick facts:

The Department continues to support a number of initiatives that are designed to combat family violence and violence against women in our communities. “A New Day”: Men’s Healing Program is one of many initiatives developed and funded by the Department of Justice to address this very important issue. Other efforts aimed at addressing family and community violence include:
- The Protection Against Family Violence Act provides legal tools for people who feel threatened with family violence. The process for applying allows for applications to be made 24 hours-a-day – seven days a week. The Department provides annual funding to the YWCA to help victims apply for emergency protection orders.
- The Domestic Violence Treatment Options Court provides an 8-week program, the PARTNER Program, for offenders charged with domestic violence who take responsibility for their actions by pleading guilty and agree to participate in the program.
- The Department of Justice provides specific funding for the RCMP’s Domestic Violence Coordinator position. This position routinely reviews all domestic violence files in an effort to identify high risk situations. The RCMP use the Ontario Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment (ODARA) tool on all males charged with domestic violence to determine risk. This tool also assists with decisions on release of offenders.
- The Department continues to work with the Coalition Against Family Violence, along with other NGOs to explore new ways to address family violence through education and awareness campaigns as well as identifying family violence prevention strategies that address the needs of each individual community.

Evaluation report on A New Day: Men’s healing program released

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