Drumheller and District Landfill is among a handful of local organizations giving inmates from the Drumheller Institution the opportunity to gain work experience, while also benefiting from some extra helping hands.
The program at the landfill has been operating for some 20 years, though it had gone on hiatus for several years until new leadership was established within the Drumheller and District Solid Waste Association (DDSWA), who brought the program back in 2022; currently there are three inmates who are employed on a regular basis.
“This modern facility (at the landfill) allows offenders to do many different jobs and tasks as it uses the current best practices in waste management, and gives the inmates an opportunity to be outdoors,” a spokesperson for the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) tells the Mail.
The program is open to all inmates for consideration. An expression of interest must be made by the inmate to their respective Institutional Parole Officer; upon expressing interest in the program, the inmate will undergo an interview process, and their case management file is thoroughly reviewed to determine if the inmate should be approved for a temporary work release.
If there are no concerns flagged in the file, a proposal plan is then brought forward to the warden who has final discretion of whether a temporary release for paid or unpaid work is granted.
“I cannot stress enough how amazing this program has been for our growth as a team and individually,” says landfill manager Sonya Adams.
Ms. Adams says although staff are given the choice whether or not to work alongside the inmates, they have welcomed the opportunity to teach and learn with them. The landfill team also shared positive comments about the program, and the pride the inmates take in the work they do.
Staff have also heard positive comments about the cleanliness of the landfill and say this is largely due to the inmate program. They have even taken suggestions from one of the longest term inmates about how to make both the service and processing of the recycling department more efficient and effective.
CSC says what the program offers to inmates--the development of employability skills and a means to safely reintroduce them into the community--is a priority. And while helping to reintegrate inmates following release is a priority, the organizations taking part in the program also receive the benefit of some extra help and “employees who are willing to work and learn.”
Other organizations taking part in the program include the Town of Drumheller and Drumheller Church of the Nazarene.
