Restorative Justice Community Champion: Marcella Garson
‘That’s my paycheque; that’s what I do this for’
Marcella Garson is a rural community justice field supervisor for Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC). She supervises the program in 12 First Nations that are part of PAGC. She is from the Green Lake area, has been married for 47 years and has four children and three grandkids.
Marcella goes above and beyond for her clients and has been an effective leader in her work for many years. She also travels to northern communities to assist her staff in court.
Tell us about your work, Marcella.
We get our referrals from the courts and speak to clients to assess their backgrounds for Gladue factors. We try and do what’s best for the clients, to help them make better choices in the future because, of course, we don’t want to see our people in the justice system. In order to help them we need to figure out what’s going on in their lives, assist them and connect them with the proper people to try to make them healthier.
What is do you feel is going well in your work these days?
We have good workers that are tied to the communities, which is key, I believe. Of course crimes in the communities are getting more serious all the time, but we just keep plugging away. Some of my workers in the communities are also Aboriginal Court workers so they assist clients that way.
What is most rewarding about your work?
When people in our communities that have been struggling with substance abuse or family and they come to see us and we see a complete change in them. When you see that person five months later with a smile on their face and they’re a lot healthier than they were five months ago, I say, “That’s my paycheque; that’s what I do this for.”
I tell my staff we’re not going to fix a whole community at once, but we can definitely serve one person at a time.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
Nothing (laughs). I volunteer with Metis Nation Western Region 2, spend time with family and enjoy life. I always say everyday you get up and get out of bed, it’s a good day, right?
What do you want other people to know about your community?
I grew up here and as with every city, we have our barriers and problems, but overall people in P.A. are awesome. It’s a beautiful place to grow up and the kids always come home. People here want to help and do good things. There’s a very good working relationship with Indigenous communities and the city. They call us the gateway to the north; we have access to things a lot of people don’t have.
