Chaplain Eileen Grace Dalusong, MDiv
Ministry of the Solicitor General – Correctional Services
“15 minutes before her shift begins, Chaplain Eileen sits in her car outside the Toronto South Detention Centre giving thanks for the work she does and saying a prayer for everyone she will meet today.
Eileen is one of 42 prison chaplains and the only Asian chaplain working in the largest maximum security jail in Ontario to help ensure spiritual and religious needs of inmates and staff are met while incarcerated. “This is not the usual kind of government job,” says Eileen. “It’s my calling.” I knew that when I wasn’t scared entering the prison doors the first time I came that I needed to listen to that.
We, Chaplains run programs and worship services, ensure faith needs such as scripture is available on demand, and sit down one-on-one with inmates in their time of crisis, journeying with them. Welcoming of all faiths including those who have no faith, our purpose is not to convert or proselytize, but to be open to different experiences, listen empathetically, and hold space for inmates as they share their deepest thoughts and feelings. “The question of where you find God in this place is a very big one,” says Eileen. “It’s a question they grapple with. How do you access your faith when everyone you know has turned their back on you?” Working with correctional officers, doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, ministry staff and countless volunteers from clergy and community partners – chaplains are part of a multi-disciplinary team helping inmates with rehabilitation and reintegration. “We’re not merely providing a service but building relationships with those who are incarcerated, as well as their family and staff,” says Eileen. Chaplains help inmates reconnect with their spirituality and learn how to accept the fact that they might live out the rest of their lives in jail.
“It’s not about fixing their problems,” says Eileen. “We’re there for a very specific responsibility. We are spiritual care providers, we minister to those in need. This means different things to different people, but at the end of the day it means “”presence” in the hope of bringing the holy into their space.
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