ABSTRACT
A sex-offender named Charlie, 41-years-old, was about to return to Hamilton, Ontario, his Canadian home town. Charlie had served a seven-year prison sentence for sexual abuse of a young boy. Before his release, the prison psychologist contacted local reverend Harry Nigh to discuss possibilities of organising social support for Charlie. Harry suggested creating a circle of support for Charlie in Hamilton and recruited members from his Mennonite congregation and community to be part of a small circle so that Charlie would have somebody in the community when he landed like a surrogate family. The group of volunteers supported Charlie with his reintegration, but also held him accountable for his actions and opinions. Charlie was supported by this group for 12 years. He then died, without having re-offended. The Canadian Correctional Services Chaplaincy incorporated Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) into their Community Chaplaincy projects and started to provide basic materials like project guidelines and training manuals through a website.
