Alberta-focused Mental Health and Substance Use Services and Supports for People Leaving Correctional Settings

According to the Correctional Service of Canada, most mental health and substance use services available to people leaving correctional settings and transitioning to the community in Alberta are provided by Alberta Health Services. Services that may be covered under Alberta Health Services include addictions counsellors, detoxification, and inpatient and outpatient treatment programs. People released on a conditional sentence from a federal correctional institution may have the option (depending on need, motivation, and institutional behaviour) of attending an Alberta treatment facility paid for by the Correctional Service of Canada. There is also a list of therapists accessible to Indigenous individuals insured through the NonInsured Health Benefits (NIHB) program provided by the federal government.

It is important to note that inventory entries listed for Alberta summarize programs and services specifically for people who are or have recently been incarcerated.

Additional community mental health programs that offer services and supports not specific to but potentially promising for people transitioning from the criminal justice system to the community can be found via Access Mental Health.

Note: this province-specific resource comes from the National Inventory of Mental Health and Substance Use Services and Supports. On that page, you will find the national inventory and links to the inventories for the other provinces and territories.