The Prince George Brain Injured Group launched a program this year for jail inmates after an informal study suggested the majority of offenders suffer from at least one traumatic head injury.
After dozens of sessions with local offenders and crash-courses with staff Jane Daigle has shared strategies to deal with brain trauma and learned that jail can both be an aggravator and allayer of symptoms she's teaching them to control.
"There needs to be education and there needs to be awareness because brain injury is invisible," said Daigle, BIG's education facilitator and case manager whose main focus this last year has been getting the one-of-a-kind program off the ground. "It's really exciting... To have all those numbers in front of me and see the successes and what worked and what didn't and how the centre up there wants to keep it going and are absolutely willing to do whatever it takes to keep us up there."
In the first eight months, Daigle led 32 sessions with Prince George Regional Correctional Centre inmates, 13 with corrections staff and another 12 with community organizations. In its first year, more than 45 inmates have gone through five cycles of the Corrections Acquired Brain Injury Education, a Prince George-born approach dreamed up by executive director Alison Hagreen years before.
Participants in the new program self-report their experience - or they don't. Daigle doesn't force a declaration to participate in the weekly sessions but operates with the knowledge - albeit sparse and built off recent research - that increased rates of incarceration are connected to those with a history of brain injury.
"You don't want to be labelled as having any type of weakness - doesn't matter what it is," said Daigle of the dynamic she negotiates at the centre off Highway 16.
But, she said it's integral all involved learn to recognize the signs of flooding, when a traumatized brain becomes overwhelmed with stimuli.
"Whether it's sound, too many people talking, too much information, someone is using too many big words or they're yelling at you or they're in your face and then you just shut down," said Daigle, who tries to help participants recognize their individual symptoms. "Everyone who floods, floods differently."
It could lead to an angry outburst, a panic attack, the person shutting down - all which can be read as disobedience.
"Imagine if a guard is trying to talk to an inmate and they're just not listening, not complying - that's when people get forceful."
PG BIG's approach is unique in the province and other communities have reached out for advice, but it took several years to get to this stage.
In 2013 the Brain Injured Group conducted an informal study to see if there was a need for support. Only 23 per cent of the inmates participated in the cross-sectional survey, and only two of the 58 were women.
But of those who responded, 86 per cent said they had at least one head injury, 70 per cent said they'd had two and 53 per cent self-reported three or more. The prevalence of the more serious traumatic brain injury (TBI) was 74 per cent, the survey said.
"In order to reduce rates of repeat incarceration, rehabilitation services targeting TBI may be necessary, especially for young offenders who stand greater risk of repeat offence," said the 2013 executive summary.
While the report acknowledged the Prince George numbers are higher than most studies, it adds they still fall within expected rates reported in other international corrections systems.
In December the Canadian Medical Association published a 13-year study that said men and women who had a Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI were 2.5 times more likely to be incarcerated than those without one. Researchers were able to link administrative health data sets to correctional records, tracking 1.4 million Ontarians aged 18 and 28 to see who went to jail and further breaking it down to see how many also had a history with head injuries.
Neither provincial nor federal institutions track brain injuries among their populations.
The Correctional Service Canada said it screens offenders for cognitive impairments and that about nine per cent show "below-average intelligence" using the General Ability Measure for Adults test.
Self-reported data in 2014 showed 34 per cent of male federal inmates had a head injury, while 26 per cent of female inmates were classified under a wider category that included head injury, seizure activity or spinal injury. BC Corrections said it was not aware of any government research on brain injuries in its facilities, but said it could be addressed during case management planning if an inmate needs "enhanced support."
PG BIG provides an "invaluable service" to staff and inmates said BC Corrections spokeswoman Cindy Rose in an emailed statement.
"Unfortunately many inmates are grappling with a number of complex issues, and for those that struggle with this type of injury as well need even more understanding and support," she said.
"Our staff now have a greater appreciation and understanding of the symptoms that can result, what to look out for and how it can manifest in a person's behaviour. Thanks to this group of amazing volunteers, staff are better equipped in recognizing their needs and how to respond in a way that has better outcomes for everyone."
Daigle is careful how she starts the early sessions, sensitive to the fact that many don't want to disclose they have a brain injury.
"The longer we go through the program, the more they start talking about how things are starting to make sense for them and why they feel they do and why they think."
There's shame, but there's also vulnerability that comes with acceptance of their condition.
She's met people who aren't diagnosed but who admit multiple car crashes or victims of several assaults in their past, know they're not the same, but don't put a name to that difference.
"Those are the type of people who have trouble talking about it. It's hard to admit that you're struggling in there."
At first a Prince George inmate, who BC Corrections said can't be identified for privacy reasons, didn't know what he would get out of the sessions.
Soon, he started to learn more about memory loss, mental health and expressing emotions.
"For me, it allowed me to be more aware of the traits - making it easier to identify and deal with all of the triggers - that led me to jail,"said the emailed statement.
"This group has also given me the supports outside that I need to help make reintegrating back into the community smoother."
But Daigle said it isn't enough to simply teach tactics to those with brain injuries. She's heard from staff that it changed their perspective on some of the behaviours they'd deal with at the centre.
"It's helped them not react as much - it's helped them do their jobs better and helped them treat people better," said Daigle, because a wrong reaction can trigger bad behaviour. And, when someone is reacting or flooding a guard's approach needs to respond accordingly.
"You can't use logic or reason to take them out of that situation and I think that's opened a lot of the staff's eyes too, is you have to talk to a person's feelings first to calm them down."
Now PGRCC staff bring her in for release planning, which Daigle said is so important because of the increased stress offenders face once back in the community.
"When they're up there, everything is very rigid. It's very consistent, they don't have a lot of symptoms because they don't have a lot of decisions to make so their brain's somewhat calm," she said, adding some have expressed to her a preference for those walls.
"It's just completely overwhelming, they flood and then they go and either use something or commit another crime so that they can go back to jail where they don't have to make any decisions."
One participant told her how he went to the store for cereal, but was immediately overwhelmed by the noise, the light and the selection.
"He just panicked and burst out crying, just crumbled and was there for two hours trying to figure out what box of cereal to get," said Daigle, who wants to work with probation officers so the support doesn't end at the centre. Whether inside or out, people with brain injuries need to learn to manage their stress, recognize signs of flooding and address addiction, because using "amplifies everything."
For those who stuck with the program, Daigle said she's only seen a positive response.
"They said it's actually changed their thinking, the way they think about themselves and the way they think about how their life has gone and how they can change their thinking now."
