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Ridgewood, Man.
El’dad Ranch provides alternative to jail


Raymond shudders to think where he’d be today if his social worker hadn’t shipped him to El’dad Ranch back in April 1998.

“I’d probably be in jail right now, always in and out of jail. That’s the way my life was going,” says Raymond (not his real name). “Because I had no other place to go.”

Jewel Reimer and “Raymond” examine El’dad’s hydraulic wood splitter. MCC photo by Bruce Hildebrand

Raymond was used to the rough streets of Winnipeg and not impressed with the prospect of spending the next couple of years at a residential treatment centre in rural southeastern Manitoba.

As a native child adopted by a white family, he had struggled with his sense of identity and belonging for years. He was in and out of group homes and in trouble with the law until he arrived at El’dad.

“[The El’dad staff] and other people in my life have said I have come a long way. And I can see that too,” says Raymond.

El’dad, an agency of Mennonite Central Committee Manitoba, provides an alternative to incarceration for young men who have intellectual disabilities and have been in regular, though minor, conflict with the law. Most of the residents have some kind of alcohol-related birth defect.

“Instead of being incarcerated, they can live at El’dad. It’s a better environment. It’s a caring, nurturing place,” says Jewel Reimer, who together with Addison Klassen, directs El’dad.

El’dad, Hebrew for “God has loved”, was launched in 1979. Currently, four men between the ages of 22 and 43 live at El’dad. Residents are referred through the court system or provincial family services department and stay for two years on average.

Much of the funding comes from the provincial government. A second non-related program provides a long-term residence for two men with more serious intellectual disabilities.

Situated on 18 acres of wooded land, El’dad Ranch has the feel of a quiet retreat centre. The four residents of the main program learn vocational skills by participating in a small firewood business, cutting and then delivering wood to various customers. El’dad also leases a sawmill to cut lumber.

Residents learn independent living skills such as cooking, budgeting and improved reading and writing skills. Positive use of leisure time is also encouraged.

“We try to introduce them to activities that they might continue after they leave here,” says Reimer. As well, Reimer says staff work at issues of restorative justice – trying to model and teach good conflict resolution, responsibility for their community and healing in family relationships.

Raymond, 23, says a major turning point in his life was meeting his birth family, about a year ago. Since then, he has embraced his native heritage, which he says has helped ground him. He has also started his first ever part-time paying job, unloading pallets at Barkman Concrete near Steinbach, Man.

When he leaves in February 2001, he will carry with him an unexpected fondness for El’dad Ranch. “Over the time I’ve spent here I have come to grow and love the people here,” he says.

Reimer says most residents feel an ongoing connection to El’dad after they leave. “Often they choose to live near here so they can be close to us,” she says.

When Reimer first started as co-director in 1995, she had high expectations for changed lives and notable accomplishments. With a growing understanding of the lifelong struggles related to fetal alcohol syndrome, she says she’s no longer so idealistic.

“I think my definition of success has changed. I think if residents leave El’dad and can avoid a life of crime, then we’ve been ultimately successful,” says Reimer, adding only one former resident who left during her tenure has since served a jail term. “I’m hoping for all of them that they can enjoy happiness for periods in their life.”

 – Carol Thiessen, MCC Canada

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Last modified August 12, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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