Assists Francophone women who have experienced any form of violenceOffers a variety of services to French speaking women, including the following:

• Fem'aide, a 24-hour crisis telephone service
• Individual intervention as well as group intervention
• Accompaniment, referral and representation services
• Crisis intervention services
• Prevention, awareness and education

Satellite offices located in the following areas

• Elliot Lake
• Sault Ste Marie
• Wawa

COVID19 Update: Court case backlog -- clients may experience difficulties contacting local offices and should leave a message with return phone number; VWAP staff will return voicemail as soon as possible

• Provides information and assistance to support participation in the criminal court process
• Services begin once police have laid charges and continue until the court case is over

Offers:

• Case-specific information (court dates, bail conditions)
• Court preparation
• Needs assessment
• Emotional support
• Crisis intervention
• Referrals to community agencies

Vulnerable Victims and Family Fund

Provides financial and court-based supports to enable victims of crime and families of homicide victims to attend court, including:

• Travel arrangements and expenses
• Language interpretation
• Real-time captioning or other equipment for victims with disabilities

• Offers on-site early intervention and crisis intervention
• Provides needs assessment, safety planning and referrals to community services
• Offers enhanced support for vulnerable victims
• Provides assistance with applications to VQRP+

Victim Quick Response Program+ (VQRP+)Provides assistance with emergency expenses related to the incident, including:

• home safety
• accommodation
• meals
• transportation
• basic necessities
• dependent care costs
• counselling
• traditional Indigenous health services
• cellular phones
• vision care
• dental care
• aids for victims with disabilities
• interpretation services
• crime scene cleanup
• government/medical documents
• funeral expenses

Additional assistance for victims of human trafficking includes:

• storage locker
• tattoo removal
• treatment at a recovery facility

Note: No direct reimbursement to victims for above supportsFinancial support also available for:

• victims who sustained serious physical injuries during a crime
• parents of child homicide victims
• spouses of homicide victims

Volunteers

• Recruits individuals to provide support to victims
• Provides individuals with specialized training at no cost

Volunteers will:

• Assist in developing a personalized safety plan for the victim
• Provide information about legal assistance and programs
• Offer referrals to long-term service providers within the community
• Provide temporary practical and emotional support

• Offers on-site early intervention and crisis intervention
• Provides needs assessment, safety planning and referrals to community services
• Offers enhanced support for vulnerable victims
• Provides assistance with applications to VQRP+

Victim Quick Response Program+ (VQRP+)Provides assistance with emergency expenses related to the incident, including:

• home safety
• accommodation
• meals
• transportation
• basic necessities
• dependent care costs
• counselling
• traditional Indigenous health services
• cellular phones
• vision care
• dental care
• aids for victims with disabilities
• interpretation services
• crime scene cleanup
• government/medical documents
• funeral expenses

Additional assistance for victims of human trafficking includes:

• storage locker
• tattoo removal
• treatment at a recovery facility

Note: No direct reimbursement to victims for above supportsFinancial support also available for:

• victims who sustained serious physical injuries during a crime
• parents of child homicide victims
• spouses of homicide victims

Volunteers

• Recruits individuals to provide support to victims
• Provides individuals with specialized training at no cost

Volunteers will:

• Assist in developing a personalized safety plan for the victim
• Provide information about legal assistance and programs
• Offer referrals to long-term service providers within the community
• Provide temporary practical and emotional support

Provides legal assistance for low-income people
Services include:

• Legal representation for eligible clients who appear in court without a lawyer
• Legal aid applications and information over the phone
• Legal resources and referrals to other social assistance agencies
• A certificate program for complex and serious cases

Areas of law served include:

• Criminal
• Domestic violence
• Family

Does NOT cover applications for:

• Wrongful dismissal
• Change of name
• Personal bankruptcy
• Power of attorney
• Money lent to others or money owed to others
• Sponsorship of relatives
• Commercial litigation
• Real estate matters and libel
• Defamation and slander

Provides various services including the following:

• Individual counselling and referrals to other resources
• Library Services for inmates
• Community Education through displays, discussions
• Guest speakers to speak on various topics

Institutional Visitation

• Visits people at the local jail in response to requests
• Advocates with legal aid and involvement with the family

Pre-Release Planning

• Meets with inmates, at their request, to develop an individual plan of action that can be followed upon release
• Develops a plan based on individual need and may involve networking and collaborating with service providers to assure assistance to clients
• Provides follow-up and support once released

Community Service Order Program

• Provides an option to jail sentences and can be a condition of a probation order for adult and youth offenders
• Works a specific number of hours of community service work
• Focuses on assistance for seniors, non-profit organizations, and physically challenged persons

Reconciliation Between Victims and Offenders

• Facilitates reconciliation between victim and offender where both parties are willing to undergo a group conference to discuss the offence, the effects of the offence on the victim and appropriate consequences for the offender

Youth Referral Project

• Determines the most appropriate consequences with the alleged young offender, parent(s)/caregiver(s), John Howard Society and the police

Anger Management Program

• Teaches people to use appropriate thoughts and actions to express anger
• Teaches skills to help understand themselves and how to identify and express their anger appropriately

Extrajudicial Sanctions/Enhanced Extrajudicial Sanctions

• Provides community based post charge sanctions for youth, outside of formal judicial proceedings, where a young person cannot be adequately dealt with by police cautions, warnings or referrals to community support programs

Summer Maintenance Crew

• Coordinates a free yard work service for seniors and those with physical challenges

Sudbury Youth Rocks Program

• Provides music lessons to youth who are at risk of conflict with the law or who do not have the opportunity to play a musical instrument and who want to learn music and join a band

• Provides family members of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) access to confidential, culturally responsive, trauma-informed and victim-centered assistance
• Supports families by facilitating connections with culturally appropriate referrals and supports
• Facilitates the gathering of case-specific information about police investigations, coroner's reports/reviews, court proceedings or other government processes and provides information to family
• Family Information Liaison Unit (FILU) staff members are of Indigenous ancestry, knowledgeable, culturally competent and responsive to the needs of the family members they serve

Note: If you don't live near an FILU location, call the Team Lead to arrange for FILU staff to travel to your location

• Operates an emergency shelter for women who have been victims of physical, emotional, sexual or financial abuse, and their children
• Supports older women who are escaping abuse from a live-in caregiver
• Operates Brookwood Apartments

Offers a variety of support services including:

• Crisis intervention
• Counselling to women and children
• Referrals to other resources
• Safety planning
• Transitional and housing support
• Family Court Support Worker Program

Provides individual and group counselling
Topics include:

• Empowerment
• Positive solutions to the effects of abuse
• Safety planning
• Stress management
• Strengthening self-esteem and self-confidence
• Well-being for the short and long-term

• Gives immediate legal assistance to individuals who appear in court without a lawyer
• Provides information about legal rights, obligation and the court process
• Provides assistance in the courtroom for bail hearings and sentencing
• Assists with diversions, guilty pleas and sentencing
• Helps determines if further duty counsel services are required or if the matter requires Legal Aid Ontario's assistance in retaining a lawyer

Provides assistance in specialized courts such as:

• Mental health
• Drug treatment
• Domestic violence
• Aboriginal persons (Gladue) court

Note: Criminal duty counsel cannot assist with trials

• Offers on-site early intervention and crisis intervention
• Provides needs assessment, safety planning and referrals to community services
• Offers enhanced support for vulnerable victims
• Provides assistance with applications to VQRP+

Victim Quick Response Program+ (VQRP+)

Provides assistance with emergency expenses related to the incident, including:

• home safety
• accommodation
• meals
• transportation
• basic necessities
• dependent care costs
• counselling
• traditional Indigenous health services
• cellular phones
• vision care
• dental care
• aids for victims with disabilities
• interpretation services
• crime scene cleanup
• government/medical documents
• funeral expenses

Additional assistance for victims of human trafficking includes:

• storage locker
• tattoo removal
• treatment at a recovery facility

Note: No direct reimbursement to victims for above supports


Financial support also available for:

• victims who sustained serious physical injuries during a crime
• parents of child homicide victims
• spouses of homicide victims

Deals with the prevention of crime, investigation of criminal activities and enforcement of law and order

Victim Assistance Unit

• Provides victims and witnesses with support, information, and assistance for victims of domestic assault

Police Services Board

• Oversees the operations of the Police Department and sets policies within the limits set by the statutes

Provides community-based, ongoing, longer-term sexual assault counselling and support services for women including:

• Crisis intervention
• Individual and group counselling
• Safety planning
• Community outreach
• Court support
• Drop-in resource room
• Information and referral to community resources
• Public education and training

Primarily delivers the Miwdoodaa Minomaadiziwin Diversion Program

• Acts as a pre/post-charge diversion program that offers culturally appropriate services to help Indigenous people deal with the criminal justice system
• Offers culturally appropriate alternatives upon sentencing before a conviction is entered
• Provides an opportunity for the community member to enter into a mutually agreed Healing and Wellness Plan which will be taken into consideration upon sentencing
• Elders, Band officials, victims and community service providers may assist the community member during the Council process
• Facilitates mediation between the victim and offender to allow each party to be seen, heard and believed in order to repair the harm done to the community
• Offers assistance with victim services, legal aid and advice clinic, probation, and bail supervision

Some typical Healing and Wellness Plans may include, but are not limited to:

• Attending cultural events, such as Ceremony and Justice Circle
• Some form of restitution
• Community service hours
• Counselling and/or treatment

Community Justice Committee

• Acts as an advisory committee to the Justice Coordinator
• Participates in Justice Circles and development of Healing Plan
• Supports the offender and the victim