Canadian Women's Foundation Annual Report 2023-2024 - Report - Page 24
Program Spotlight: Indigenous
Women’s Family Reunification
Program, Fort St. John Women’s
Resource Society, Fort St. John,
British Columbia
At Skye’s Place, a housing unit for survivors of
abuse, women are supported by staff members to
stabilize their lives and work toward reuniting with
children who have been placed in child protection
services and care. Program participants may be
dealing with the impacts of intergenerational
trauma, lack of family support, relationship
violence, and substance use.
“When Alice* moved into Skye’s Place, she was
like so many other abused women – she had lost
all sense of self, doubted her value, and felt like
a bad mother. We supported and advocated for
her as her ex-partner continued trying to control
her future. She enrolled in a nursing program and
became healthier and more confident in herself
and her ability to parent. She was eventually able
to move into a new home for her and her child.
Her success inspires
other women here, and
she will be returning
as a mentor on how to
move from dependent to
independent.”
– Fort St. John Women’s Resource Society
*Name changed.
Program Spotlight: Sexual
Assault Recovery and Healing
(SARAH) program, Survivor’s
Hope Crisis Centre, Pinawa,
Manitoba
Survivor’s Hope Crisis Centre is the only rural
sexual violence resource centre in Manitoba. Its
SARAH program offers individual counselling
and group support to sexual assault survivors
and provides workshops that help friends and
family members support their loved ones.
“In partnership with a rural domestic violence
shelter, we hosted an online healing group
for survivors of sexualized violence. This gave
the shelter residents additional supports, and
enabled survivors from distant communities
to take part and form a reliable peer support
network. We also sent packages to participants
with workbooks and other self-care resources
to empower them in their journeys.”
– Coral Kendel, Executive Director, Survivor’s
Hope Crisis Centre
Support packages for participants in SARAH’s online healing group.
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