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Your generous donation will be used to fund mental health initiatives for correctional officers at Edmonton Maximum Security Institution in Alberta.

Positioning Statement

This is an appeal to industry to help fund programs for correctional officers at Edmonton Max. We are unique. The only organization targeting prevention of mental breakdown in front line staff. When you fund CX Solid, you are helping keep families, streets and work places safer because your funds help maintain the mental health of well trained correctional officers, saving them from needing to take stress leave, from which they often never return.

State of Affairs

At this time, Edmonton Max is still underfunded. The result is that there are not enough officers for the number of inmates. This makes for unhappy, agitated inmates and beleaguered, anxious correctional officers. It is not a good mix. We can’t fix the funding, but we can bolster the mental well-being of the officers.

Did You Know?

Correctional officers exposed to trauma in the line of duty face potentially unpleasant and disabling after-effects. Appropriate and timely intervention lessens the impact on the officer, by reducing personal stress. Intervention also helps the organization as it can facilitate the recovery of an officer’s level of performance to that before the incident, and can decrease the likelihood of long-term disability leave.

Correctional officers work in a complex, unique and aggressive environment. These difficult working conditions have been associated with adverse health conditions, mental health challenges and risk of serious injury with a potential of death. They work with individuals that the court of law in Canada has stated cannot reside amongst the general public as they are too high of risk to leave them free on the streets. We are tasked with the daily conflict that comes with having to keep offenders safe while maintaining our own personal safety. Is it any wonder that:

  • The average life expectancy of a correctional officers life expectancy is 62 years, while the average Canadian can expect to live to 82 years. Correctional officers experience health problems commonly seen in people 10-15 years older.
  • 31.1% of correctional officers are diagnosed with MDD (Major Depressive Disorder).
  • 29.1% of correctional officers experience PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
  • 11% of correctional officers reported suicidal ideation in 2022. Over a lifetime, 35.2% of officers reported suicidal ideation. Between 2013 and 2015, there was a confirmed devastating success rate of 8 Officers lost to suicide.

According to statistics from the Government of Alberta, 33.5% of all assaults in prisons and jails are committed against staff by inmates, and in a 20-year career, a correctional officer will be seriously assaulted at least twice. The recurring exposure to traumatic events such as these can lead to PTSD. Feb 1, 2018
– Exerpt from the Canadian Occupational Safety Newsletter

Persistent psychological problems have been identified among a variety of individuals exposed to unusually traumatic or life-threatening events. It has been documented that the distress caused by such incidents can continue over extensive periods and severely impair functioning.
– Exerpt from the Correctional Service Canada Website