Archives for March 2012

Archive for March, 2012

Only 3 days left to vote for Nellie’s!

Posted on: March 30th, 2012 by Nellie's No Comments

Only 3 days left to vote for Nellie’s to win a new website!

Thanks to you, we’ve made it to the Top 3 in the TBK Creative Website Charity Challenge!

We need your help now to get us into first place to win a total website makeover!

All it takes is a quick visit to this facebook page and a click on the word “vote.”

If you have already voted for us, please forward this blog to your family and friends so they can vote for us too!

Voting closes this Sunday April 1st, so please vote now.

Help us win so that our website can become an easily accessible space where our clients, donors and supporters can come to find and share in the work that we do.

THANK YOU!

Dream Catcher Workshop

Posted on: March 29th, 2012 by Nellie's No Comments

A Dream Catcher Workshop was held on Monday evening at our shelter and it was a fun event for all! Dream catchers made of twigs, sinew, feathers and gemstones have been woven since ancient times by Native people, specifically the Ojibwa. They were woven by grandfathers and grandmothers for newborn children and hung above the cradleboard to give the infants peaceful, beautiful dreams. Twigs used for dream catchers are gathered fresh and dried in a circle or pulled into a spiral shape depending upon their intended use.

(Items used for making Dream Catchers)

The Native people believe that the night air is filled with dreams both good and bad. The dream catcher when hung over or near your bed swinging freely in the air, catches the dreams as they flow by. The good dreams know how to pass through the dream catcher, slipping through the outer holes and sliding down the soft feathers so gently that many times the sleeper does not know that he/she is dreaming. The bad dreams not knowing their way, get tangled in the dream catcher and perish with the first light of the new day.

Here is what the women had to say about participating in the workshop:

“I was very happy that I was able to make a dream-catcher. I have always wonder how they were made. Now that I know how they are made, I cannot tell my friends what I have learned.”

“I had a very wonderful time making the dream-catcher’s. Joanna is a very good teacher and she takes the time to show the ladies how to do the work. For myself, it was very relaxing and I got to see how creative I can be only the time flew by too fast, it was too short. Thanks Joanna.”

“I enjoyed all the classes and have had a great time learning and spending time with friends.”

Women Experiencing Abuse & Violence Support Group: Resistance through Storytelling

Posted on: March 23rd, 2012 by Nellie's No Comments

Nellies’ W.E.A.V group has made a successful start, kicking off the first week of February. Last week we were joined by Sonny B of R3 Collective who facilitated a two week workshop series exploring storytelling and identity using creative writing, spoken word and music as the medium.

Women who stay silent about abuse do so for many reasons; shame, fear of reprisal from systems such as Immigration and Children’s Aid, as well as threats and coercion from abusers. Children who are abused are often told not to tell anyone, that the abuse is a ‘secret’ and that they will not be believed. These messages continue to inundate adult survivors of violence and abuse, and silence is a valuable tool used by abusers and oppressors to have power over their victims.

Speaking out about violence and abuse is itself a form of resistance, not to mention an integral part of the healing process. Oppressed groups have be silenced throughout history, and Nellie’s remains committed to providing spaces for women’s voices to be heard, and bringing those voices to the centre as part of our commitment to Advocacy and Social Justice. Check out this great TED Talk by Chimimanda Adiche, “The Danger of a Single Story.” In this video Chimimanda talks about the implications and importance of who tells our stories and how they are told:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg]

While the focus of W.E.A.V is on sexual assault, intimate partner and familial abuse, we discuss and acknowledge less recognized forms of abuse such as racism, homophobia and transphobia, ableism and poverty, not just as issues that compound violence but as forms of systemic violence in and of themselves.

With the guidance of Sonny, a skilled story teller, musician and facilitator, women used the arts to give voice to issues that directly affect their lives. Women worked on individual pieces as well as collaborated to create a spoken word piece titled: ‘Poverty’.

For more information about the R3 Collective click here or contact Sonny directly at sonnybeanmusic@gmail.com

Women Enjoy Yoga with Sangha of Hope

Posted on: March 15th, 2012 by Nellie's No Comments

Nellie’s has established a partnership with Sangha of Hope to offer a yoga program to our clients. Sangha of Hope is a non-profit yoga outreach organization dedicated to offering yoga and meditation workshops to women in transition and women survivors of physical, mental and sexual violence. According to this article from Yoga Journal, yoga can be a very important component of healing as it helps survivors work through panic attacks, flashbacks, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

We are currently in week 6 of our yoga program and it is at full capacity. During the sessions the facilitators create a safe and healing space for women as they embark on their journey towards self-empowerment, resiliency and self-awareness. Throughout this process clients begin their healing process and in turn, cultivate a sense of empowerment and awareness of themselves and their bodies.

Last week we asked the women to share their thoughts about the program. This is what they had to say:

“If only I knew the benefits of Yoga I would have started a long time ago.”

“I leave feeling so relaxed and at peace.”

(Women Enjoying Yoga at Nellie’s.)

Nellie’s Jewelry Making Program

Posted on: March 6th, 2012 by Nellie's No Comments

As part of our International Women’s Day Blog Series we would like to introduce you to one of our staff members, Joanna. Joanna works as a counsellor at Nellie’s Shelter and she facilitates Nellie’s Jewelry Making Program. Joanna’s love of jewelry making started at a young age as her grandmother and mother taught her how to make acorn necklaces. Soon she was making more complicated pieces such as star-quill earrings and eventually created her own custom jewelry. Her work is grounded in authentic Native traditions and she uses procupine quills, beads and stones in a traditional style with contemporary flare. Today Joanna shares her passion with the women and children at the shelter, showing them how to be creative and how to design their own custom jewelry.

(Beautiful pieces of jewelry made by the women at Nellie’s Shelter)

At the Jewelry Making Program, each woman creates a “One of a Kind” piece that they can be proud of owning including handmade necklaces, earrings and bracelets. At Nellie’s we celebrate the courage that it takes to walk away from violence. We want to support women through their journey to freedom. With a holistic healing approach, we aim to provide creative and expressive ways for woman to move away from their worries and come together to focus on a new way of self expression. Creating something beautiful for themselves is time spent healing.

Many women at this group have told us that they have not had an opportunity to do something fun and creative in a long time. Having dedicated and caring staff like Joanna guide women through this process helps them to develop self-confidence and new forms of expression. This group is also a place for discussions to occur among women in an informal setting. If you’d like to get involved in this program, we are always looking for items we can make jewelry with including beads, stones and gems. Next month, the women will be creating dream catchers.

Nellie McClung and the Famous Five

Posted on: March 5th, 2012 by Nellie's No Comments

People often ask us the history of our name “Nellie’s Women’s Shelter.” In 1973, when Nellie’s was founded by a group of women activists, including June Callwood, they chose to name our organization after Nellie McClung, feminist, politician, social activist and one of the “Famous Five” who fought for women to be recognized as persons under the law, eligible to hold seats in Canadian Parliament.

(Nellie McClung)

On August 27^th, 1927, Nellie McClung along with Emily Murphy, Irene Parlby, Louise McKinney and Henrietta Muir Edwards, filed a petition to Canada’s Supreme Court asking the question “Does the word “persons” in the British North America Act include female persons?” Less than a year later, the Supreme Court came back with the answer: “No.” Obviously dissatisfied, the women took this case to a higher level of authority, the Privy Council in England, which was then Canada’s highest court. On October 18^th 1929 they finally got an answer:

“The exclusion of women from all public offices is a relic of days more barbarous than ours. And to those who would ask why the word “person” should include females, the obvious answer is, why should it not?”

Following this decision, Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby and Louise McKinney went on to be elected into the Alberta Legislature, Henrietta Muir Edwards helped establish the National Council of Women, and Emily Murphy continued her work as the British Empire’s first female judge. It is our honour that two of Nellie’s McClung’s granddaughters, Emily and Caitlin McClung volunteer at Nellie’s. You can meet the McClung sisters at LEAF’s Annual Persons Day Breakfast.

We are proud that our organization is richly grounded in the advancement of women’s rights in Canada. Just as the Famous Five identified women’s denial of legal “personhood” as a barrier to the full participation and inclusion of women in society, Nellie’s work today continues to identify barriers that make it difficult for women to leave abusive situations such as lack of affordable housing and childcare and an immigration system that keeps women vulnerable and in danger. In the spirit and memory of Nellie McClung and the Famous Five, we remain committed to the work of ending violence so that all women may live free from fear, able to contribute as full and participating members of society.

International Women’s Day Around Toronto

Posted on: March 2nd, 2012 by Nellie's No Comments

As a global celebration, International Women’s Day provides us with the opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the status of women both at home and around the world. At home in Toronto and here at Nellie’s one of the ways we acknowledge International Women’s Day as a day of solidarity with our allies and friends working to end Violence and all forms of oppression against Women. This is why:

In 2011 at Nellie’s…
– 137 women and 24 children accessed shelter services
– 260 women sought support through our Housing Access Programs
– 249 women joined us at Nellie’s events
– 2025 women called our 24-hour crisis line

Tomorrow, Saturday March 3rd Nellie’s is participating in International Women’s Day Toronto. This event will begin at 11:00am with a rally at OISE (252 Bloor Street W). At 1:00pm participants will march to Ryerson University and at 2:00pm there will be a celebration and fair at the Ryerson Student Centre (55 Gould St). The theme for this year’s event is “Reclaim our City: Good Jobs, Services, Dignity. Together we are Stronger.”

Nellie’s is proud to participate in this event with many other women’s organizations around the city including: The Ryerson Women’s Centre, The North York Women’s Shelter, and YWCA Toronto. If you’re at the fair on Saturday, please make sure to come by the Nellie’s booth to say hi!

In addition, here are some other great events happening in the city to Celebrate IWD!

– Exposed: The Female Perspective & Voices – Art Show celebrating IWD at Steam Whistle Brewery. Show runs all of March. Details here.

– The Centre for Women’s Studies in Education presents The F Word. Performances March 8th-11th at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Details here.

– Screening of Miss Representation film followed by panel discussion at U of T Hart House, March 8th. Details here.

– Gender at the Crossroads: Women and Culture at the Centre of a Changing Southeast Asia exhibit and talk at Art Square Gallery, March 8th. Details here.

However you choose to celebrate, we hope your International Women’s Day is a great one!