Subsérie 05 - History of Elizabeth Place

1 cm of textual records
1 photograph: col.

This subseries consists of three historical summaries of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of London, Ontario regarding Elizabeth Place, a collaboration with the Elizabeth Fry Society during the Sisters’ western mission in the Edmonton Archdiocese. Elizabeth Place was a three-floor, seven-bedroom residence for formerly incarcerated females, located on 95th Street, in the Sacred Heart Parish. It opened on November 4, 1987. It was an initiative spearheaded by Sister Mary Leo Kirwin and assisted by Sisters Genevieve Casey and Dominica Sheldon. The Elizabeth Fry Society of Edmonton, an organization that supported women who were or at risk of becoming criminalized, would refer women to Elizabeth Place. The first historical summary is a handwritten personal account by Sister Alice Caza from August 1, 1991, to June 18, 2004, that chronicles the activities and events at Elizabeth Place. Topics include new clientele admissions and frequent move outs (which was about 16 women per year), Sisters arriving and leaving for new work assignments or retiring, teaching English language classes at Unity Centre, furniture donations, household improvements and structural repairs, the Sisters’ stolen white Citation 1981 car, annual Regional House meeting, Sylvan Lake cottage holiday retreat, cultural celebrations, and conferences. Sister Alice Caza was diagnosed with cancer in 1997 and passed away on July 4, 2008, and in August 2008, the Leadership team decided to sell the house.

The second historical summary was written by Sister Dominica Sheldon from November 4, 1987, to December 1988 and the third historical summary was written by Sister Mary Leo Kirwin from January 1, 1990, to August 6, 1991. The topics included are the official signing of papers for the house ownership of Elizabeth Place, setting up of the house, opening preparations for residents, the Life Skills program organized by the Elizabeth Fry Society in a ground floor classroom, concerns for the impact of mental health issues of those staying at Elizabeth Place, the deaths of residents, residents entering and leaving, room preparations, discussions with officers, correctional institutional, and social service workers. The Sisters also wrote about bible study, backyard barbeques, cultural celebrations, and an outing to the West Edmonton mall. There is one group photograph of the Sisters at Elizabeth Place in December 1992.