Prisoners' Trust Fund For Victims of Crime a Miracle

Mennonite Central Committee
Saturday, 12 February 2000

WINNIPEG, Man. -- A group of prisoners serving life sentences has established a fund to help victims of crime set up healing programs.

The concept behind the newly established Candace Derksen Fund captures all of the intricacies of the journey from violence to healing and forgiveness, says Wilma Derksen, mother of Candace. Her daughter was 13 when she was abducted and murdered in 1984.

"It is a miracle that it (the fund) even exists," says Derksen. "It defies everything human in us. And it has taken all of us a long time to get here."

The inspiration for the fund came from an unexpected source. Rene Durocher spent 23 years in jail for bank robbery and is currently the national director of Life Line--a program of the John Howard Society which works with lifers.

After hearing Derksen address an assembly of inmates at Stony Mountain Institution on the needs of victims in today's society, he challenged the men to give their words meaning by acting on them. They quickly took him up on the idea and expressed a desire to establish a fund to help survivors of homicide and other victims of serious crime.

Durocher then approached Derksen, who heads up Victims' Voice for Mennonite Central Committee Canada, for her approval.

"I had an unbelievable mix of emotions," Derksen recalls. "I respected the source of the offer. It was something that I've been teaching all these years that in order to heal from an offence, the offender has to do something more than just offer words of apology.

"I was awed and honored by their gesture. And yet I knew that as victims we have incredible pain and fear that we associate with offenders. It's not easy to overcome the pain and fear. I knew this fund would demand that of us and everyone else who participates in it."

Derksen said that her family discussed the plan at length with Durocher. "My son asked all the hard questions," she said about 18-year-old Syras. He wondered what the lifers' interests were. Would participating in the trust fund help them get parole?

"There's not one guy who can gain something from this--except maybe their self-respect," said Durocher. "Maybe it's selfish. But it's the kind of selfishness that can lead a person to be a better person."

According to Derksen, her daughter Odia put it all into perspective when she asked, "Mom, isn't this what you've been preaching all of these years?"

"Even the processing of this was important and healing for our family," says Derksen. "It brought out all of our issues. The most difficult issue was using the name of our daughter. Was it exploitation of her memory to set up this fund? We found peace when we envisioned her memory as serving an active role in keeping this fund focused and honest."

Derksen also consulted with other victims of crime. "The bottom line to our discussion was that victims need money. The government spends billions of dollars on the rehabilitation of offenders and comparatively nothing on the healing of crime victims. The needs are enormous," she says.

So far, the lifers' groups at Stony Mountain Institution and Rockwood Institution in Manitoba have raised approximately $4,000 through various fundraising efforts. Recently business and other individuals are catching the vision. Durocher, who remains excited about the fund, says the $7,500 is needed before the fund is activated.

Grants from the trust will be disbursed through the Winnipeg Foundation to fund victim- sensitive healing programs which are initiated and organized by victims. These could include an independent victims resource centre, group support programs, speakers, panels and more.

The funding proposals will be screened by a victim-appointed committee and then submitted to the Candace Derksen Fund executive committee which includes members of the Derksen family.

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org