The Nanaimo branch of the John Howard Society has re-branded and joined outlets in Vancouver and Kamloops as 'Connective' (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

rebranding

Former Nanaimo John Howard Society expanding services under new name

Sep 8, 2022 | 5:28 AM

NANAIMO — The local chapter of an organization with over 150 years of history in Canada has a new moniker.

The Nanaimo Region John Howard Society is moving forward under a new ‘Connective’ brand, aligning with other former John Howard branches in Vancouver and Kamloops.

Executive director of the Nanaimo operation John Horn said the move allows them to do much more locally and across Vancouver Island.

“We all have the same frame for the work we do, which is that criminal justice frame, social exclusion,” Horn told NanaimoNewsNOW. “We’ll deepen our resources because the Lower Mainland is quite a big entity, it’s 500-plus employees.”

Connective focuses on criminal justice reform and provides a wide array of supports and services for people in the court system.

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Outside of their work in criminal justice, the Nanaimo branch also operates the rent bank locally, which provides low or no interest loans to low-income individuals to help with unexpected or untimely bills.

Horn said the new partnership will see their rent bank services expand to other communities, which could also result in more comprehensive services being offered.

“We will only go into communities where we’re wanted, where there’s not a current service provider who has the capacity to deliver,” Horn told NanaimoNewsNOW. “We’ll bring to the table some expertise around supportive recovery and some work we do inside the correctional centre which is quite unique.”

Connective also has a strong presence through northern B.C., as well as into the Yukon and Northwest Territories.

Horn said the motivation behind the branding move was to better reflect what the society does in the community, along with the wide array of services offered.

Housing is a major part of the group’s service portfolio with development of a new 50-bed supportive complex underway.

They also run a vital dental clinic for low-income families and run a program at the Nanaimo Correctional Centre which lets inmates read books to their children.

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