A Moment to Remember a Friend
August 21st, 2010 Thomasso Posted in Criminology, General, University classes | Comments Off
I was humbled today to find out that one of my friends from my very first intake at Corrections Canada had been sent off to the hospital and will likely never come out due to cancer. Back in November of 2002 I did my very first week of volunteering work as a civilian counsellor working with inmates who were about to be released from the halfway house. I was very green and was full of energy back then. That time was a meaningful time for me, as what I saw, did and got out from it became imprinted in my mind, likely for the rest of my life. This is mainly why I kept up with doing so much volunteering as a student with Corrections.
Since then, I have kept in touch with only a hand full of those men that I have worked with over the years. Normally when the men go off into the world I rarely hear back from them. I assume that most go on with their lives and become successful at whatever they are doing. Most of the men that I worked with are none violent offenders, and are either dealing with drug addition or some sort of mental illness. They are the lucky ones who can leave the prison system and have a good chance to make it out in the world.
This particular individual is somewhat well known in the media, and has had to deal with the public stigma of his past offences for a very long time, which is why I will not mention his name on this blog-post.
When you work with people, you form bonds. This is natural. Even the most seasoned counsellors are effected by these tragic circumstance and loses. I will always remember my friend from over eight years ago. Regrettably he is in somewhere around Ontario, probably near Toronto, too far away for me to travel.
