Offenders who are released into the community need a strong support system in place to change their criminal behaviour, participants in a sharing circle on restorative justice were told Friday night at McKenna Hall.

The traditional native sharing circle, which encompassed around 50 people, included members of the St. Vincent de Paul social justice committee, representatives from Weyburn's legal community, police and concerned citizens, as well as native community workers and a social activist who have experience in the area of restorative justice.

They came together to talk about a community-based approach that is focused on the effective rehabilitation of offenders, rather than turning to incarceration as the only answer to crime.

A circle of support and accountability is a key aspect for criminals who are trying to become productive members of society, said Otto Dreiger, an activist in the area of restorative justice.

Dreiger talked about a sex offender in Ontario who had served out his sentence in prison and was being released into a hostile community that did not want him.

He explained sex offenders are not rehabilitated in prison, don't receive assistance to integrate back into the community, and since they are required to serve out their full sentence in prison, are not assigned a probation officer when they get out.

A pastor in the Ontario town decided to assist the man, and enlisted the help of a police officer, psychologist and others who agreed to check in on the man daily, take him for groceries and help him with the daily activities of life, providing him with a circle of support and accountability. It proved successful and the man has not re-offended for the last 12 years.

"This to me is not such a new idea. It's a logical process for people who have lived a life in prison; their circle of support has been other criminals. What better way to shift that than to develop a positive circle, created artificially until the person develops support of their own?" Dreiger asked.

Myron Thompson, a youth worker at the Carry The Kettle reserve near Montmartre, was next to speak in the sharing circle. Thompson grew up in the area and lives there now with his wife and three children. He said he's seen restorative justice working in his community in the form of sentencing circles, which have been held at Carry The Kettle since the early 1990s.

"I work with youth, kids who are 12, 13 years old, and they've lived a life so pitiful. You think, what are we going to do for this child - he's got to come back into my community, live and grow with my kids. For the adults, they don't know what it's like to have a life as a responsible person," said Thompson.

The sentencing circle is meant to provide an alternate path. The circle includes elders, who are consulted first for their wisdom and knowledge, professionals in the area of justice, mental health, addictions, etc., members of the community, the offender and sometimes the victims.

"We've had a number of sentencing circles in our community. A lot of our people have started to live the life we used to live, learning the spiritual and cultural ways," he said. "When one of our members breaks the law it's like anyone else - when a law is broken you are accountable and there is punishment."

Thompson explained that hundreds of years ago native people were held responsible by their tribe when they did something wrong against a neighbour. Depending on the severity of the crime, sometimes the person would be forced to live on their own; sometimes all his belongings were destroyed. If he took offence chances were he was asked to go; but if he humbled himself and accepted punishment then he was dealt with in a more subtle manner.

"Today we're trying to help our people the best way we can with support, and tell them to always remember to respect what you've got. We want to make restorative justice work. Jails have not worked for our people. We're at a time when we have to make it work, we can't let if fail," he said.

But scarce resources are making it difficult, said family support worker Pat Thompson.

Carry The Kettle, with a population of 1,800, and other reserves like it, have no court or justice workers in the community. One probation officer services 12 First Nations communities in the File Hills region.

"Because of that we don't have follow-through. If the sentencing circle approach is going to work we have to have the resources to do that," she said. "We have limited resources, and trying to make it stretch doesn't always work. Our wish is to have one worker within each community."

The Carry The Kettle band council is currently working on a program to bring kids in the young offender system back into the community to receive help. They could use more addictions workers and more resources in the school, and would like to start training people in the community to help bring the ideas into reality, she said.

"But it costs money," Thompson said. "No one gives you anything for free."

Thompson, who is also a nurse, said half of the Montmartre hospital is currently unused, and the band has asked to utilize that area for training in family support, family violence, addictions and personal development and growth.

Kevin Missens, a community justice worker with the File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council, estimates he's been to over 300 sentencing circles, and says the process is taxing on the community's budget.

"By going through the sentencing circle it can save the province well over $3 million; in return the community doesn't see anything," Missens said. "But we have the knowledge that we helped an individual to become a productive member of society."

Missens says it takes a community to heal an individual.

"The idea is to fix the problem so the problem doesn't come back. The individual has to be willing to accept changes," he said.

Some communities are doing better than others. Missens says success often relates to how close a community is to Regina, a city that provides easy access to drugs, and from which gangs infiltrate small reserves to recruit members.

Pat Thompson says gang activity was becoming a problem at Carry The Kettle three years ago. The youth suggested an innovative way to let people know about the problem - they wanted to put on a play and present it to the community. Thompson contacted a Montmartre-based man, Cal Abramson, who was heavily involved in the arts, and he developed the play with local actors and a stage crew.

The play was about a young boy from a traditional home that is torn between being in a gang and being good. He gets into trouble, steals a car, rolls it and becomes paralyzed. In the end he is held accountable in a sentencing circle.

"For our premier performance the gym was packed; people were crying because this is a reality for us. We've had to come up with innovative ways to get our message across," said Thompson.

The play was performed in 30 schools and taken to New Mexico.

Innovation and community involvement are very important if restorative justice is to work, said Missens.

"Sentencing circles need a good core of people willing to help. A sentencing circle can be used anywhere, it doesn't have to be restricted to the aboriginal community. Help your neighbour no matter who they are - care for them," he said.