A Cost-benefit Analysis of Hollow Water's Community Holistic Circle Healing Process
Description:... Four Native American communities in Manitoba (Canada) known as Hollow Water devised a healing system for sexual abuse--the Hollow Water First Nation Community Holistic Circle Healing (CHCH). While integrating elements of a number of federal and provincially funded services, the 13-step CHCH healing process is based on the seven Midewin teachings of the Anishnabe people. Unlike mainstream systems (justice, family/social services), the process holistically involves victims, victimizers, and their families and creates spiritual, physical, emotional, and intellectual benefits throughout the community, many of which cannot be given a specific dollar value. A participatory approach involving 50 formal interviews and many informal interviews was used to conduct a holistic cost/benefit evaluation of the CHCH strategy. The study concluded that the CHCH strategy is the most mature healing process in Canada. During the 10 years of CHCH existence, the federal and provincial governments have contributed a total of $2.4 million. The cost of 10 years of government-run services would be $6-16 million. In addition, these mainstream services do not have the community capacity nor healing effect of the CHCH healing process, nor do they include a community development component. Given that the recidivism rate for CHCH is 2 percent, compared to the national average of 13 percent for sex offenders, the value of CHCH services to government and community is significantly understated. Value-added benefits include improved child health, more people completing their education, improved parenting skills, empowerment of individuals, broadening of community resources, increased community responsibility, return to traditional ceremony, decrease in overall violence, and overall healing of intergenerational pain resulting from colonization. There is every indication that these benefits will increase exponentially in the future. Appendices present the 13 steps of the CHCH program, and research materials. (Contains 34 references.) (TD)
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