Parolees will soon have an official residence in Vernon. Corrections Canada is currently considering proposals from two organizations to establish a halfway house in the community. “We will spend the next 10 days considering how the bids will best serve the city and we will announce the successful bid May 14,” said Lisa Bayne, community engagement co-ordinator with Corrections Canada. It’s anticipated it would take a year for a facility to open. A halfway house was closed after the murder of 75-year-old Bill Abramenko in 2004. Eric Fish, who has been charged with the death, was missing from the facility at the time of the incident. The two organizations that propose to operate a new facility made presentations to city council Monday.
“Every attempt is being made to do the right thing. There is a lot of sensitivity to the concerns (of the community),” said Coun. Juliette Cunningham. After the Abramenko murder, many residents opposed a halfway house ever being in Vernon again. But civic leaders admit there is a need for such a facility. “There are parolees in our community any way and they are not managed in a structured way that you have at a halfway house. It makes sense to have them managed,” said Cunningham. Cunningham is confident there have been changes in how parolees are dealt with, including hiring a community corrections liaison officer at the RCMP detachment.
The RCMP are aware of the two proposals. “I support a halfway house if it is well managed,” said Insp. Steve McVarnock. “If we have services for them to reintegrate, it’s better for me to know where they are than being in the underground.” Bayne says the successful applicant will work with Corrections Canada, the city and the RCMP, and details of a 2004 agreement between her agency and the city will be followed. Following the recommendations of a community advisory panel, a smaller facility will be opened. It will have 12 beds, including two emergency beds. There will also be restrictions on what kind of parolees can’t stay at the facility, such as dangerous sex offenders. Prior to a new halfway house opening, there would also be a public consultation process. “We want a safe community in Vernon and the best way to do that is to provide offenders with services and housing and to release them gradually,” said Bayne.
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http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/ Editorial 
News that Vernon will again be home to a halfway house for parolees will undoubtedly spark concern for some residents. Vernon has served as a home for convicted offenders before and has good reason to feel hesitant about another halfway house. After all, a former resident of Vernon’s old home for parolees is charged with killing two men after walking away from Howard House in 2004. A halfway house is the ultimate Not In My Backyard issue, but there is good reason for that. The fact remains that criminals convicted once are statistically more likely to commit further offences than your average neighbour.
Yet at the same time, society must do its utmost to reintegrate parolees into everyday life. We cannot, and would not want to, lock up every offender of every offence for life. Halfway houses, which can supervise the day-to-day activities of the recently released, and through which parolees can access vital programs, are key to the ongoing effort to turn convicted criminals into contributing members of society. With that in mind Vernon should keep its mind open to another home. But this city has paid a price before, and any future halfway house should be the result of deep thought and much public consultation.
Any new halfway home’s location is key. It must have minimal impact on the surrounding neighbourhood and maximum benefit to parolees hoping to start their life anew. A new facility should only open once a location is found that minimizes the parolees exposure to Vernon’s drug scene while providing them with accessible services and employment options. And above all, everyone invovled must keep in mind lessons learned from past experiences.
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