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House Meetings Bring Shelter Residents Together At Nellie’s

Posted on: May 1st, 2012 by Nellie's No Comments

Every Wednesday evening after dinner, the women at Nellie’s gather in the living room for a House Meeting. This presents an opportunity to spend time with one another, bond over snacks, and discuss important house issues.

Lil, one of our consellors and Monica our house coordinator facilitate this meeting. The meeting usually starts with a check-in, where every woman has the opportunity to share with the group how she’s feeling and how her week is going. There is often a ‘question of the day’ incorporated into the check-in which spurs creativity and openness. The House Meeting is not simply a space where chores, announcements and needed household items are discussed; it is also a very inclusive and validating space.

(Lil and Monica co-ordinate Nellie’s House Meetings)

Every week, the women have a chance to thank and appreciate one another. For example, a women might thank another women in the house for helping her with her laundry or with childcare. Whenever a women comes to her first House Meeting, she is welcomed with a round of applause and given words of encouragement from the other women in the house. It is also a space for women to share what kind of programming that they are interested in, which will later be incorporated into the agenda by the programming staff. Sometimes, there are guest speakers on topics which range in discussion from affordable housing to racism to transphobia. Other times the meeting includes relaxation and reflection exercises such as meditation. At the end of each meeting, staff hold a raffle for prizes for the women.

The House Meetings at Nellie’s bring women together, encourage discussion, processing and problem-solving, and most importantly, create a sense of community.

Nellie’s Celebrates our Volunteers for National Volunteer Week!

Posted on: April 17th, 2012 by Nellie's No Comments

This week, April 15th – 21st is National Volunteer Week! Established in 1994, National Volunteer Week is an opportunity for Canadian’s to recognize the 12.5 million volunteers who graciously donate their time and energy to make our country and the world a better place.

At Nellie’s, our volunteers are an integral part of our day-to-day operations. Whether helping us with fundraising and administrative duties or working directly with women to ensure that their experience at Nellie’s is a great one, we could not do the work we do without them.

This week we’d like to introduce you to some of our volunteers and the amazing things they do to support the women and children at Nellie’s!

Every Tuesday Clara, Jolene, Patricia and Nutu come to help Adriana with our Tuesday Supper Surprise Food Drop-In Program. Once the food donations arrive from Second Harvest, our volunteers unload, sort,pack and handout between 60 and 70 individual bags every week for the women.

(Clara, Jolene, Patricia, Nutu, and staff Adriana)

Clara was formerly a placement student at Nellie’s and continues to volunteer her time with us. Jolene has been volunteering for Nellie’s for 2 years, Nutu has been volunteering for 3 years, and Patricia has been volunteering for 1 year.

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 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’s Women Experiencing Abuse and Violence (W.E.A.V.) Group

Posted on: February 1st, 2012 by Nellie's No Comments

Next week marks the beginning of the first cycle of Nellie’s Women Experiencing Abuse and Violence Support Group (W.E.A.V.) for 2012. This group is open to women in our shelter and in the community who have experienced violence and are ready to talk about it. Through a variety of different topics women come together to gain an understanding of the role violence has played in their lives and develop the tools and skills to recognize and be proactive against violence reoccurring in their lives in the future. One of the most important things women realize while attending this group is that abuse is never the fault of the abused, but arises out of the need of the abuser to have control over another person.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdTEY42RxYM]
(Video made by Grade 10 students for Nellie’s YPI Project)

Some of the topics covered during the 12 sessions of this group include: achieving goals, beginning new relationships, the cycle of violence, parenting, starting out on your own, and safety planning. Michelle, a recent participant of Nellie’s W.E.A.V. Group describes her experience as follows: “It was an eye-opening experience for me. I recognized how to avoid situations, when to stand up for myself, and how to transform into a more confident human being. It is wonderful to have others to share stories with, learn from and be supported by.”

At Nellie’s we believe a simultaneous focus on immediate needs such as shelter and health as well as a long-term focus on education and advocacy are the best way to encourage empowerment and independence for all the women and children who come to us for help. Our Women Experiencing Abuse and Violence Group is a core piece of Nellie’s educational programming and offers participants an opportunity to not only learn from our staff facilitators, but most importantly to learn from each other and develop peer relationships that often continue once the group is finished.

Welcome 2012

Posted on: January 11th, 2012 by Nellie's No Comments

It’s 2012 and we are looking forward to another year of new beginnings for the women and children at Nellie’s.

First, thanks to all of our donors, supporters, and community members for your amazing support in 2011. With your help, the women and children at Nellie’s have been able to achieve many great things, as they begin new lives free from violence, poverty, and homelessness.

Last year, you helped us to provide shelter to 191 women and children; respond to 2,025 crisis calls for assistance; create 320 safety plans to help women and their children safely flee from violence; and serve over 40,000 meals for homeless and low-income women in the community! For more information, you can access our latest Annual Report.

A few of our Accomplishments in 2011 include:

~ Nellie’s Women & Accessibility Group welcomed our first participants

~ 30 women participated in 2 sessions of our Ending Violence Support Group

~ Our Children’s Summer Camp was a big hit with the kids!

~ We received great feedback and solidarity on our 16 Days to End Gender Violence Blog Series

All of this great work was achieved with YOUR support!

This holiday season was a great reminder for all of us of how generous and supportive our community truly is!

Thank you to everyone who contributed to Nellie’s through our “Home for the Holidays” fundraising campaign;

as part of our online giving community, raising over $16,000 in under 24 hours for a New Boiler for our shelter;

through our inaugral Online Holiday Auction which raised over $3000;

and as a participant in our Holiday Gift Giving Program which provided a new toy or gift to over 200 women and children this holiday season!

For a pictoral re-cap of the holidays, click here.

Not to forget, thanks to all our 2011 Team Nellie’s members and donors who helped raise $11,208 during the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

Looking forward in 2012, our goals are to maintain the same level of high-quality programs and services as well as increase our capacity to support disAbled women to end violence in their lives, including the creation of space to accommodate private counselling. We will also continue to work on raising funds to build a new shelter for Nellie’s!

Welcome 2012. With you, we can make this our best year yet and continue to create new beginnings for the women and children in our care.

Happy Holidays from Nellie’s!

Posted on: December 23rd, 2011 by Nellie's No Comments

On behalf of all the women and children at Nellie’s shelter, we wish everyone a Holiday Season as magical as we are having, followed by a New Year of Peace, Joy and Love.

See you in the new year!