'I think they saved my life'
By: Kevin Rollason | United Way in the News
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Winnipeg Free Press, Sunday December 26, 2010
Reproduced with permission.
Photos: Phil Hossack
Path to healing begins at women's resource centre
Francesca Arkley (from left), Colleen Stratman and Grazia Bermisa of the Fort Gary Women's Resource Centre. 'This is a safe haven for the women who come here.'
With her job no longer there to serve as a kind of mental crutch, Lorna realized she needed help.
"My doctor gave me the names of psychologists to call and the first one asked for a fee and said it would be $175 per hour," she said recently.
"I knew I'd need more than two hours of counselling and I also knew I couldn't afford it because I didn't have a job.
"Thankfully, she gave me the name of the Fort Garry Women's Resource Centre."
Women and children who have been victims of domestic abuse can begin their path to healing thanks to the Fort Garry Women's Resource Centre.
It has been the main mission of the FGWRC since its founding in 1983 by a group of women who saw a need that wasn't being addressed.
"They saw that the rapidly expanding south portion of Winnipeg needed a resource centre for women," said Francesca Arkey, the centre's head of philanthropy.
"Since then it has grown and expanded. We respond to what the community asks for."
The FGWRC is a non-profit feminist organization -- it's really women reaching out to women.
The objectives of the centre are to provide a central place for women to meet, receive counselling, take part in services, receive education and support, get opportunities to volunteer, and liaison with politicians and community workers about the needs and concerns of women.
Its services are open to all women regardless of their employment status, citizenship, age, race, socio-economic status, or sexual orientation.
Grazia Bermisa, the FGWRC's co-chairwoman, said "we give (women) an ear to talk to.
Dora Gwendo, the organization's other co-chairwoman, said "this is an organization that makes a lot of difference in the lives of women and children.
"This is a safe haven for the women who come here."
The FGWRC provides several services at three locations:
The Waverley Street location houses counselling, support groups, legal clinics, self defence classes, and a library.
The Pembina Highway location has counselling, support groups, a clothing program, yoga and Tai Chi, children's counselling programs and public education workshops.
The Ellen Street Centre has a children's counselling program and public education workshops.
The major funders for the centre are the province's family violence prevention program and the United Way. As well, specific programs and projects at the centre are supported by the Winnipeg Foundation, the Manitoba Law Foundation, the Thomas Sill Foundation, Manitoba in motion, the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, the Canada Post Foundation for Mental Health, the Fort Garry/St. Norbert Healthy Child Coalition, and the Margaret Laurence Endowment Fund.
The FGWRC also relies on donations from individuals.
Colleen Stratman, the FGWRC's public education and communications coordinator, said it is an organization "committed to creating a community where women and children are safe, valued and empowered.
"Our counsellors work with women on various issues including abusive relationships, childhood abuse, self esteem, separation and divorce, overall coping, and parenting issues. It's pretty much any issue a woman would experience in their lives.
"And everything we offer is free."
Arkey said more than 6,000 people now avail themselves of the organization's services annually.
Arkey said of that, 2,300 women use group therapy, while 1,200 use individual therapy.
She said the children's counselling program, which began in 2007, helped 19 children in its first year who had witnessed or were victimized by domestic violence. Just three years later, there are 60 children in the program and there are 45 families on its waiting list.
Through music, play and art therapy, the children, aged two to 12, receive individual counselling.
Arkey said they're hoping to hire more counsellors.
"We have an eight month waiting list for individual counselling and the children are waiting five months for play counselling," she said.
"We need to get our waiting lists down."
The FGWRC also holds workshops on family law topics and looks for female lawyers and female articling students to volunteer and speak at them.
As well, it holds free legal consultations of up to 30 minutes for women who have legal questions and have not already dealt with a lawyer about their issue.
The centre also has a special support group for women aged 45 years and older at its Pembina Highway location.
The group meets monthly and looks at items of interest for those women.
There are also saving circle information sessions to help women better manage their money.
Lorna is so thankful for the help the FGWRC provided her when she needed it that she is giving back to the organization by volunteering.
"I don't know what I would have done with the Fort Garry Women's Resource Centre," she said.
"I always say I think they saved my life... I am extremely grateful."
