Inspired by the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program in the U.S., we began in 2011 under the name Inside-Out Canada. In 2014, we established our own autonomous Canadian based program under the name Walls to Bridges (W2B). In 2012, thanks to the generous support of the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation, the national W2B Hub was established in the Faculty of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University, Kitchener, Ontario. The first course at Wilfrid Laurier was offered in partnership with Grand Valley Institution for Women (GVI) by Dr. Shoshana Pollack in 2011. This was a pivotal moment in the Walls to Bridges story, as students from this course (both incarcerated students and MSW students in the Faculty of Social Work) formed a ‘collective’ after the course was over. Within one year of meeting regularly, the W2B GVI Collective established the National W2B Instructor Training Institute, each summer hosting a five-day training for university, college and community educators wishing to learn our pedagogy and establish W2B programs in their own communities.
The Walls to Bridges National Hub moved to McMaster University in 2022, under the leadership of W2B National Director, Dr. Savage Bear (2022-2025). After Dr. Bear stepped down as director, we began building an inclusive leadership model. W2B National is teaming up with Wilfrid Laurier and Toronto Metropolitan Universities to develop a co-institutional governance model for Walls to Bridges. OCC coordinator Lorraine Pinnock is also being recognized as a co-director in the leadership, reflecting the important work they’ve been doing for years. Also included as co-directors are Sara Howdle (McMaster), Rai Reece (TMU), Marcia Oliver (Wilfrid Laurier), Shoshana Pollack (Wilfrid Laurier), and Tori Poe.
W2B National is also making connections to local programs across the country to increase regional representation at the National level. It’s a gradual process and we’re looking forward to seeing it develop.