The Reading Together program at the North Slave Correctional Complex (NSCC), which helps connect incarcerated fathers with their children, is about to get a $10,000 boost.

Made possible by the NWT Literacy Council, the program earned an honourable mention through the Canada Life Literacy Innovation Award. In October, the literacy council will be formally recognized at a virtual awards ceremony.

Mark Phillips, an institutional instructor at NSCC, described himself as facilitator for the program and the council's contact inside the jail. 

"I go around different security pods, I talk to some guys and tell them about the program and I put up sign-up sheets in the pods for about three or four days," Phillips explained. 

Phillips said he then drafts a list of participants. He also has to tally up how many children will be involved and ascertain their ages and sizes, he said, so the council can get the proper books and resources needed.

He gets those extra details because Reading Together is a lot more than just reading. Katie Johnson, program director for the NWT Literacy Council, explained that the program also comes with bedtime comfort kits. The kits feature things like new pyjamas, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and other family literacy resources,

In the early 2000s, the council had a tape recording program at the North Slave jail.

"In January of 2020, we heard about the Saskatoon correctional centre starting to do it by video," said Johnson. So, the NWT council applied for funding from the GNWT Healthy Choices Fund so it could do the same, she added.

The new program kicked off in 2021. Ever since, inmates have been recording and sharing one story after another.

"For children who visit their fathers at the facility, we have been creating visitation activity kits because we recognized that can give them something to do and to talk about while their children are there visiting them," she explained.

Reading in front of a camera isn't always easy, and sometimes some of the inmates are a little shy, said Phillips.

"I'll talk to the participants about what's going to happen. I try to get them the books a day before." 

It varies, but the number of inmates taking part in this program hovers between four and 10, said Phillips. The children are usually anywhere between a new born and their early teens. 

There's quite a range, but some popular books include anything written by Robert Munsch, superhero books and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. There are also books that centre more on Indigenous cultures, Phillips added.

In terms of feedback the program has received from inmates, Phillips said it's all been positive, despite how challenging it can sometimes be.

"They all want to do it. Guys will break down and cry during it," he said.

Phillips explained that some of the inmates will get emotional because of how much they miss their children.

"There are instances where guys have never even met their kids," he added.

When asked what it's like to see people in that position, Phillips recounted his own circumstances when he first started this job three years ago.

"I was a brand new parent, my son was born in November 2020, I started here in March of 2021," he recalled. "I related a lot to these guys because in my new world, I had a new baby and it was all consuming for me, but some of these guys, these fathers are locked up. They don't have access to their kids."

Phillips explained there are plenty of facets tied into that dynamic.

"How do the kids relate to their father not being here? How do the fathers deal with not being able to hold and kiss their kids goodnight?"

That's why when Phillips started working with this program, he focused on what it could offer to the children involved. He also described the program as therapeutic.

"Not just in terms of the process for the fathers, but it's therapeutic for, I'm sure, the whole family." 

For the future, Johnson said examining different ideas to keep evolving the program.

"We would like to look at ways of making it more interactive between the dads and children," she said.

One idea Johnson mentioned was to have a father begin a craft, like a birdhouse, then send it to their child to complete it with paint and decorating supplies so it can be something they worked on together.  

Phillips also suggested that having a similar program for incarcerated mothers at the Fort Smith jail could be another improvement.

The reason that's not happening right now is because of funding limitations and travel costs, said Johnson. However, she did say it could become another expansion for the program.