Our Mission

As an integral part of the criminal justice system, the United Church Halfway Homes (UCHH) is dedicated to providing residential and community programming to offenders transitioning back into the wider community by providing them with the resources and skills which will assist in reducing their risk of re-offending, enhancing the quality of life for them, their families and the community.

UCHH is a private non-profit agency that is managed and operated in accordance with standards of the Correctional Services of Canada and is a member agency of both the Canadian Association of Women’s Criminal Justice Residential Options and the Prairie Region Halfway House Association.

United Church Halfway Homes seek to respond creatively to what the social and justice system environments bring to us. We hope to be proactive about options that reflect forgiveness, reconciliation and restorative justice.

A Ministry of the United Church of Canada

image002United Church Halfway Homes is an outreach ministry of The United Church of Canada. UCHH is an expression of the United Church’s belief in the essential foundations of respect, integrity, healing and hope for all persons. It is a ministry of hospitality and justice making.  The Bible commends us to “remember prisoners as if you were in prison with them, and people who are mistreated as if you were in their place.” (Hebrews13:3)  The gospel also reminds us to, “Keep loving each other like family” and gives this direction: “Don’t neglect to open up your homes to guests, because by doing this some have been hosts to angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:1-2)  UCHH opens the doors to people often shunned by our community and they become our neighbours.

A disproportionate number of women and men incarcerated are Aboriginal.  The legacy of colonialism and more than a century of systemic racism directed at First Nation people are substantial factors in this scandal.  The United Church of Canada has publicly apologized for its contribution to the policies and institutions that contributed to this history.  With intentionality, over the last 3 decades efforts have been made to build right relationships between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal people, within the United Church, and in the wider community.  To learn more …