Giselle Chance keeps Vision on Mission on track

Since losing her husband of 16 years to cancer in November 2019, Giselle Chance has been at the helm of Vision on Mission – an NGO founded by Wayne Chance in 1995 with a mandate to rehabilitate formerly incarcerated men and reintegrate them into society.

“Vision on Mission was incorporated by him upon his exit from prison. I was a co-founder, but he was the one who championed the cause. As his wife, I was there to support him and help with the administration.”

Now, in her role as CEO, her mission is to carry on the work to which her husband dedicated the latter part of his life. He was 47 when he died.

“It was not an easy transition, for more than one reason,” the former UWI administrative employee told WMN.

“I had just lost my husband, became a single parent to three children, and had to come to the fore in an organisation that treats primarily with men – rehabilitating men who would have a criminal background. So I had to adapt very quickly to the challenges that came with working with this section of the population.

“Before, I had always been in the background giving support; now I had to lead the organisation."

Fortunately, she said, she received a lot of support from the board of Vision on Mission, family and friends.

“I didn’t go it alone, and by the grace of God I was able to take up the mantle and continue Wayne’s legacy.”

Chance said although she could have passed on the responsibility to someone else, she made the decision to step forward and lead because she wanted to bring the organisation to a place where if, in the future, she needs to step back a bit, she would be able to do so knowing that whoever takes over can continue what her husband had started.

She fondly recalled their early encounters that led to forming Vision on Mission, and the many hurdles they had to cross to start a life together because of his past.

“Wayne and I met at a church camp a couple months after he came out of prison. For me, it was, ‘I like this guy; I think he has a good vision,’ and I went chasing after him,” she said with a loud laugh. “We fell in love and eventually got married, but being a pastor’s daughter and falling in love with an ex-con, everybody wasn’t too happy about it at the time. There were a lot of questions, a lot of prayers.

"But I made a decision to give Wayne Chance a chance in spite of the doubts, which were warranted.

“I won’t advise young women to just enter into a relationship with someone who was involved in any type of criminal activity, because there is the risk of that person going back to a life of crime if they don’t receive a level of support and they don’t have that internal drive to change and add value to their society.

“And that was the difference with Wayne; he had that drive to never return to a life of crime. And he went further: he wanted to add value and he followed up with his actions.

"In hindsight, it worked out well for me, but I wouldn’t advise young women to do that unless they look at all the factors to ensure they are making the right decisions.”

Vision on Mission uses three facilities to carry out its work – the Wallerfield Rehabilitation Centre, the administrative office in St Augustine, and a 15-apartment building in Laventille that houses those who are ready to transition back into society.

Chance said there is no “typical day” for her as head of Vision on Mission because of the nature of the job.

“They come in with so many pre-existing issues – mental illness, physical ailments, some have court cases, bail hearings on short notice and so forth…We have to deal with their process of transformation, and that will mean situations will arise from time to time at the facility that I will have to pay attention to ensure that staff is safe, clients are safe, that the organisation is able to operate in a particular manner.”

She said there is also always a need for strategic collaboration with other stakeholders, including the Ministry of National Security and its various divisions.

“All with the aim of ensuring we provide a good service to our clients, with the ultimate goal being to make TT a safer place.

“So sometimes I may have nothing planned for tomorrow, and then I get an e-mail from a stakeholder telling me I need to attend this launch or a meeting. It’s important for Vision on Mission to be present and to show up in forums that involve the overall public safety and reducing crime.”

Additionally, she said, there is human-resource management.

“Every day has its challenges, and it tends to be fluid. So while there are certain structures and systems in place, we have issues that will arise daily.”

Chance said the 13-acre facility in Wallerfield can accommodate a maximum of 64 people, and there are currently 61 men there.

“We run a number of programmes there, such as skills training and development like agriculture and barbering.”

She said once the men have gone through the programme and they have some savings, are gainfully employed and can live independently, they apply to transition to the Laventille facility where they are able to rent low-income apartments.

“That will give them the opportunity to determine if they are ready for reintegration in a supervised setting. That’s when we are able to see if they are ready to transition back into society.”

She said right now the organisation does not have a designated facility to rehabilitate women, but they are working on it.

Chance said funding comes from the State and “small amounts” from individuals, but it is never enough for the organisation to run as it should.

“ I plan to go to business community with data that what we do helps reduce crime, and hopefully we will get the buy-in and support.

“Supporting this programme in general is not a bandwagon that most people would want to jump on. If we were an organisation that supported the victims of crime, we would have been receiving more support. Unfortunately, I’m dealing with the absolute rejects of society; the prevailing sentiment is that these persons are monster, they commit heinous crimes and they should be punished for the rest of their lives and they should not be assisted in any way. And while that sentiment is valid, the reality is that the average inmate is not going to be sentenced for life and they are going to be released at some point in time.

“So there has to be some form of intervention that takes place to ensure that when they do come out, they are not a risk or burden to society. If people look at it from that perspective they will see the need to support organisations like Vision on Mission.”

Chance said the funding from the Ministry of National Security is goes toward working with formerly incarcerated people, deportees, as well as delinquent youths who transition out of the Youth Training Centre.

“However, because of the range of services we provide and the length of time we have been providing it, we were asked by the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services to lend support to take in a limited number of socially displaced people. We capped our number to ten at a time. We have extended ourselves in that regard, but we make sure our main clientele remains formerly incarcerated people.”

She said if, in the future, the State would like the organisation to provide more support to socially displaced people, Vision on Mission is willing to discuss getting the requisite financial support for it.

Chance said the organisation's core mission has remained the same, but there are some areas she would like to explore as an extension.

“As a woman I am inspired to do more to assist to assist women in general – those who become vulnerable by way of crime, whether they are victims or perpetrators…One of my other passions surrounds mental health. I’ve seen the gaps that exist is the current system to truly support people with mental health challenges and their families, and there are a certain number of crimes that take place because of mental health issues.

“I want to advocate for more resources, systems and programmes to be made available to support people with mental health challenges who have entered the system, and also their families…I’d say 25-35 per cent of the individuals who come to Vision on Mission have some underlying mental health disorder, and it affects our ability to successfully rehabilitate and re-integrate because they require long-term care.”

Although it may seem that the work she does for the organisation takes priority in her life, Chance made it clear that in spite of her dedication to her husband’s legacy and her development as an individual, the needs of her children trump everything else.

“I continue to be very involved in church life; I’m a minister, a musician, a singer, worship leader, songwriter.

"But the last five years has been a period of transition for me and my children, and they require a lot of my attention. I have to be there for them, so a lot of my personal goals and aspirations have to take a back seat. For me, my most important role and responsibility is that of being a mother.

“Running Vision on Mission is great, it helps society, it puts food on the table. But at the end of the day, my children need me in every possible way.”

And in as much as she loves and appreciates the Chance name and what it represents, she said she will give it up next year when she marries the new love of her life, martial arts professional Dr Oluyeme Mashama.

“The Chance brand will always be there and I have great respect for it, but I will honour my new husband by taking his name.”