Wellness Court

The Wellness Court is an alternative court process which focuses on helping chronic offenders suffering from addictions, mental health, or cognitive challenges which contribute to their behavior. Wellness court provides offenders with an opportunity to seek counseling, assistance, and treatment programs prior to sentencing.

In a regular court, a person charged comes before a judge who will look at the offence, listen to the evidence, and make a ruling on the case before them.

In Wellness Court, a case manager provides intensive support and supervision to the offender as they work to make positive changes. A support team helps the offender to access services such as housing, income support, and mental health and addictions programs. Treatment programs are individually tailored to the offender's specific needs and cultural background.

The offender remains under intensive court supervision for a period of 12 to 18 months, and are subject to release conditions that guide them as they go through the program. On completion of the program, the offender returns to court for sentencing, and the judge takes into consideration the progress made by the offender towards their wellness goals. Ongoing support is provided to the offender after sentencing to continue their success.