John Howard Society honours Ross Robinson

The John Howard Society of Brandon hosted a retirement dinner on Saturday evening for outgoing executive director Ross Robinson.

The event — held at the society’s new transitional housing facility in the north end —marked the end of Robinson’s eight-year tenure in the position and nearly a decade of leadership that board members said reshaped the organization’s reach, programs and role in the community.

Robinson reflected on how he came into the role in 2018 with uncertainty about his own qualifications.

“I applied for the job reluctantly,” he told the Sun. “I didn’t think I was qualified. It required some criminal justice background, which I didn’t offer.”

He said that early uncertainty gave way to a deeper understanding of the organization’s mission.

“I knew the mission — repair the harm done by crime — but I didn’t know what that looked like in the John Howard Society,” Robinson said. “Repairing the harm done by crime is kind of a broad statement. But what does it look like?”

For Robinson, that answer became practical and community-based. “It looks like us going into the jail and helping guys get ready for release,” he said. “It looks like us working with the justice system to ensure that people get the program that they need so they don’t reoffend.”

One of the most defining moments of his tenure, he said, came during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In Christmas 2020, we provided Christmas dinner for 1,500 people,” Robinson said. “They were not going to provide their (Westman Traditional Christmas Dinner) … and so we stood up, and we said we will do it.”

He described a large volunteer effort. “Through a big operation, through our kitchen at Brandon University, through hundreds of volunteers, we were able to get meals, hot Christmas meals, to people in their houses on Christmas Day,” he said. “It was a great achievement, as far as I’m concerned.”

Robinson also pointed to the organization’s physical expansion and housing work in the form of its new 24-unit complex for men on 16th Street North.

“We’re providing opportunities for 24 people to get an opportunity to get the program they need and get the help that they need through the transitional housing building,” he said. “Our goal here is to show these guys that they are part of our community, and we want them in our community.”

He said that the building itself represents a shift in how reintegration is supported. “This building is just a vehicle to get people from a bad place potentially to a better place,” he said. “To get people from an environment where they feel set apart to an environment which makes them feel that they’re part of the community.”

Board president Ted Dzogan said he initially had concerns when Robinson was hired but quickly changed his view.

“I had concerns. Who is this person they’ve hired?” Dzogan said. “My concerns all too often in not-for-profits … were who would take this job at the salary that was posted. What skills could they possibly have?”

Those concerns, he said, disappeared quickly. “About 90 days after, I no longer had concerns,” Dzogan said. “Ross didn’t take the job for the salary, took the job for the job.”

He said Robinson transformed the organization. “Today the organization is four or four and a half times the size it was when he took over,” Dzogan said. “He made it into a real leadership role in the community.”

Dzogan pointed to several key accomplishments. “Ross is personally responsible for founding the Men’s Resource Centre in Brandon,” he said. “Ross is one of the founders of the Brandon Food Rescue Grocery Store … and we’re very proud of the work we’ve done there.”

He also highlighted the transitional housing project. “This will be the first-ever provincially sanctioned recently released and early release centre for inmates from Brandon Correctional Centre,” Dzogan said. “If your family wasn’t going to take you in when you were released, you were dropped off at a homeless shelter… the odds of you succeeding are extremely low.”

Dzogan added he will miss Ross as he has become his best friend.

Incoming executive director Michelle Lemoine praised Robinson’s impact and humility. “Ross is amazing,” she said. “He has done so many good things for John Howard and for Brandon as a community.”

She added, “This building wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Ross … it wouldn’t exist—it was his push.”

On his retirement plans, Robinson said he and his wife are preparing for travel and simplicity. “We’re going to head off to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia,” he said. “We have a camper van, which we love… we’re just going to take an opportunity to do all the things that we enjoy doing.”

» aodutola@brandonsun.com

» X: @AbiolaOdutola