A PhotoVoice of Hope and Meaning

To verify this as a legitimate initiative, please email me and I can put you in contact with faculty supervisors at McMaster University or the Directors of the St.  Leonard's Society of Hamilton.
My name is Richard Kanary.  I am a father of three and a devoted husband.  I have struggled with mental health and addictions issues for much of my life.

I'm not a former offender.  Because I didn't get caught.  I'm one of the lucky few.  Some people aren't so fortunate.

My life is different now, but I've had tremendous help.  I am now a student at McMaster University.  I have won a $6500 Undergraduate Student Research Award, which is a prestigious award granted by the University for students to conduct research under faculty supervision over the summer.

With the help of faculty advisors from McMaster, the St. Leonard's Society of Hamilton, and the curators at the Art Gallery of Burlington, I plan to help those who haven't been as fortunate as me.  My research seeks to facilitate and shed light on the reintegration of formerly incarcerated men, thereby contributing to the greater security of the community.  The research will involve in-depth interviews and the use of a cutting edge technique for participatory needs assessment known as PhotoVoice, which involves having research participants record their lived experiences through the use of photographs.


An Exhibit of Hope by those in Transition
PhotoVoice 

Over 15 weeks, participants (formerly incarcerated men) will take photographs of those people, places, and things that gave them hope before and during their time in a transitional home.  Their photography will be professionally exhibited at the Art Gallery of Burlington in January 2016 for four weeks.  Denis Longschamps, the AGB's curator, has already secured these dates for us.  Furthermore, participants will be able to place their photography on sale to the public.

In order to take photographs and have the photos available for my analysis, participants will be provided with a telecommunications device and a voice, text, and data contract through Virgin Mobile.  It is expected that such compensation for their participation will contribute to their ability to find meaningful work, help imbue a sense of self-worth by connecting them to their community, and bolster their feelings of mastery and prestige.  Importantly, these devices will also be preprogrammed with security software for the duration of the study.  Most importantly, it will provoke participants to engage with the arts community in meaningful work.


I want to help make reintegration more functional for the formerly incarcerated, and for Hamilton to be an example on the world stage of successful reintegration strategies.


While I am grateful for the financial award from the University, I still require numerous materials - in order to carry out the photovoice part of the project in the most professional and meaningful way possible, I am now seeking donations for research instruments (smart phones or digital cameras & recorders), photo exhibit materials, etc. (all listed below).

Your Donation will go towards:

-the realization of the formerly incarcerated participating in the arts' community and having their voices heard;

-purchasing research instruments (telecomm devices for participants to take photos and voice journals);

-telecommunications contracts through Virgin Mobile (for interaction, transfer of photos, affecting social mobility, and compensation for participation);

-photography exhibit materials (prints, framing, etc.);

-formal wear for participants' exhibition gala;

-creation and dissemination of valuable documentation, recommendations, and knowledge of the processes and lived experiences of social reintegration for former offenders.



All funds will go to the St. Leonard's Society of Hamilton who will manage disbursements, allocating all donated funding to me as appropriate.

Alternatively, you can donate directly to them, which I am happy to arrange if you send me an email.

Your Role

I offer you the opportunity to associate yourself, and/or your company, with a philanthropic endeavor that is guaranteed to imbue a business or brand with goodwill. You will be positioned as a sponsor for an exhibit of former federal offenders' "PhotoVoice" of Hope at the Art Gallery of Burlington in January of 2016.  I anticipate a heavy press presence, and online and print media (namely CHCH and the Spectator) are already planning to report on the event to the Greater Hamilton Area. It is a wonderful opportunity to boost your visibility and increase your notoriety in the humanitarian arena.  Furthermore, it is a great opportunity to help a marginalized population.


Sponsorship Privileges

If you or your organization pledges the following amount, you will be entitled to the corresponding privilege:


GOLD - $5,000
Headlining Sponsor of the Art Exhibit - prominent representation in all associated print and online media, and at the exhibit itself.

SILVER - $1,000
Subsidiary Sponsor of the Art Exhibit - subheading representation in all associated print and online media and at the exhibit.

BRONZE - $500
Partnership Agreement - tertiary acknowledgement in all associated print and online media and at the exhibit.

Why?

Some of us have experienced the loss of a loved one to the correctional system or experienced the difficulty of their reentry.  

...or you have read stories of those who have struggled to reintegrate.  
...or you have heard of the results of the unmanageable conditions in our prisons.  
...or maybe you have experienced it for yourself.


Ashley died in prison - Ashley Smith Timeline, Ashley Smith Conditions

Offenders are being double-bunked and more - Conditions in Prisons

A 20 year program to help offenders adjust was lost - The Promising Lifeline Program Gets Axed

Our political climate is making it worse - Tough on Crime Policies Worsen Prison Conditions

90% of current inmates will be released into society at some point.  Recidivism rates in Canada are at 44%.  A disproportionate amount of these men have issues with mental health.

All of these concerns affect us, however indirectly, through tax monies and other forms of capital.  The cost of managing these processes is high and growing.  Besides the cost to our collective pocket books, there is also a high cost to fundamental human dignity.  

Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and other nations have begun new rehabilitative and reintegrative correctional models.  They have met with unprecedented success.

There is more information to this effect if you look for it.  It isn't hard to find.



The Applied Research

I will study how paroled offenders reconstruct identities, find a sense of meaning, and establish their dignity.  I will do so through interviews, alongside participants' photographs of hope. Analyzing these together is expected to reveal important factors influencing the process of reintegrating.  More importantly, participants will exhibit their photography professionally at the Art Gallery of Burlington, where they can sell their work.  Such engagement with the community should be expected to increase participants' sense of mattering, mastery, and self-esteem.

Methods

I seek to investigate the process of social reintegration for paroled offenders and to improve their chances at reentry by using technology, communication, and the arts to connect them to their communities.  This program is a participatory needs assessment strategy coupled with a socially centered philosophy for reentry of offenders.  This will be accomplished by using telecommunications technologies, photography, and social psychology theories to enable participants and produce valuable data.  

This study is expected to reveal factors that mediate their transition from a deviant identity to a proactive contributor to their community, thus providing important information for program and policy reform.  More importantly, the pilot project is expected to improve the lives of the participants by combining arts and science to connect them to their community.

I will study paroled offenders intensively through qualitative interviews, with particular focus on how they reconstruct a sense of meaning through their performances of identity. Alongside this, participants will take photos of people, places, and things that gave them hope before and during their transition. This 'PhotoVoice' technique is a cutting edge form of participatory needs assessment, by which it is expected that participants will achieve more mastery and feel like they do matter.  Further, it will connect them with their community and, in turn, can be expected to improve communities' perspectives of paroled offenders. This 'PhotoVoice' will be exhibited at the Art Gallery of Burlington in 2016.

Once 15 weeks of data is collected, it will be codified and analyzed and, with the help of faculty advisors at  McMaster University, findings will be disseminated to appropriate agencies. Thereafter, I aim to publish the results in an academic journal.

With the high likelihood of the success of this pilot project, it is expected that the program will be embraced by other community agencies.  A marketing professional is committed to the pilot project to ensure that the press and media, including online channels, are well informed and thus spreading the word to the public. The Hamilton Spectator and CHCH TV have already expressed great interest in covering the event.  Sponsors will undoubtedly experience returns and rewards for their involvement in this philanthropic endeavour.

The support of three PhD's in Sociology will help guide this journey. I also have the support of the St. Leonard's Society of Hamilton, who have already begun their role in gathering participants from a pool of residents at their transitional homes. I have also been offered the Community Gallery at the Art Gallery of Burlington for a 4-week exhibit in early 2016. The only piece of the puzzle that is missing is the funding for participant compensation, research instruments, and support for the compilation of documentation, recommendations, and accompanying materials.

My goal is to see that these individuals' voices are heard and to contribute to providing the correctional system in Canada the support it needs.  Otherwise, we may not be properly treating the issue.



If you would like to read the academic materials, you can find them here:
 

Methodology:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vo5fkwdzj4nwj4t/Methodology_-_In_Transition.pdf?dl=0

Appendices:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lqis7wiqam73xet/Appendices_-_In_Transition.pdf?dl=0



More info is available upon request