Alberta's FASD support program helps inmates rebuild lives after release
Willow Winds Support Network's Transitional Mentorship program pairs inmates with workers who ease the transition from custody to stable housing and employment.
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Katlin Sharko spent decades cycling in and out of custody — arrested, released, reoffended, arrested again. At 40, a seminar on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder at the Edmonton remand centre changed the trajectory.
"I was in the Edmonton remand centre and they were putting on a seminar for FAS or people with FAS," he recalled. "I went and sat in with a couple buddies." He reviewed the pamphlets in his cell and recognized himself in the description.
FASD is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disability caused by fetal alcohol exposure in the womb. It impacts thinking, learning, behaviour, and daily functioning differently for each person. Sharko said he experienced the classic symptoms: making poor friend choices, struggling with money management, showing up late, losing jobs, avoiding large crowds, and sensitivity to bright lights.
After confirming with his late mother's history with alcohol, Sharko enrolled in Willow Winds Support Network's Transitional Mentorship program in Edmonton — a support service for people impacted by FASD. He was paired with a transition worker, an expert in FASD who built a relationship with him in custody and prepared him for release.
Transition workers assist with housing, income, food security, substance-use support, and mental health care. They pick clients up from correctional facilities, show them their new home, set up appointments with doctors and therapists, manage banking, and drive them to meetings — bridging a gap that often leads to homelessness and reoffending.
"If we miss the individual when they leave that door, then what choice do they have? They're walking into homelessness, they're looking at re-offending, they are looking at re-engaging with substance use, and then their mental health deteriorates," said Julie Nanson-Ashton, executive director of the Central Alberta FASD Network. "Whereas they've got some hope."
Many offenders with FASD struggle with past broken relationships and make rash, impulsive decisions without understanding consequences. "They're also easily persuaded by others to commit crimes," Nanson-Ashton said.
Michael Stansberry, associate director of programs with Alberta Correctional Services, noted that because FASD is unique to each person, outcomes of program participation vary — but the support model is proving effective at reducing reoffending rates.
The facts
What is fetal alcohol spectrum disorder?
FASD is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disability caused by fetal alcohol exposure in the womb that impacts thinking, learning, behaviour, and daily functioning differently for each person.
What services does Willow Winds Support Network's Transitional Mentorship program provide?
Willow Winds Support Network's Transitional Mentorship program in Edmonton pairs inmates with transition workers who assist with housing, income, food security, substance-use support, mental health care, medical appointments, banking, and transportation after release from correctional facilities.
How does the program help reduce reoffending?
Transition workers bridge the gap between custody and community by providing immediate support upon release, preventing the homelessness and re-engagement with substance use that often leads to reoffending.
