My Morning Musings |
May is Sexual Assault Awareness Month - which is aptly being renamed Sexual Violence Awareness Month. This seems a good fit! Because what ISN'T violent about assault? Somewhat like we used to use the words "molested" or "interfered with" and so on... When we use words that better describe the act, it helps solidify in our minds that this is a crime and that the victim is NOT guilty of anything! This is what we are trying to convey to young people and adults - when we understand what a word or action really means - you can't unhear it! This has been a busy month! I am pleased to have been able to present to multiple age groups - grade 8 boys, youth 16 to 21 and young adults, 22 to 30! I am pleased that the audiences were so receptive and interactive, there is always a worry that they won't connect, but, I do believe we reached people, if even a little bit, this will change their future thinking. This week, I will be presenting to a group of elderly women - the youngest, may even be me! This is definitely a different group to speak to, but equally important! In previous generations, words like molested and interfered with, implied that the act was not as serious as the "sin" of the one injured. I must choose my words carefully, thoughtfully and approach this from a slightly different stand point. I will use my presentation (tweaked continuously for my audience) about Healthy Relationships, Setting Boundaries, Effective Communication and Consent. Stats Canada says that in 2019 there were more than 14,000 seniors who were victims of violence and of them, 599 were sexual assault. Now, knowing that less than 25% of sexual violence incidents are reported, and there are people in care homes who can't speak up, the likelihood is probably much higher. This will be a good time to talk about boundaries! I recently had two women attend a Zoom presentation, first woman was in her 50's and her mom was in her '80's and she "doesn't listen to that sort of thing", however, she left, with new thoughts and open to conversation, so wish me luck! If we can reach conservative women, in their 80's - that is so important! This may not change their lives much, but it can change how they think and see their children and grandchildren and help understand what they are going through. On Saturday, I got together with our local Forensic Nurse Examiner (FNE), Emily, from Upper River Valley Hospital and my administrative assistant, Heather, and we spent the day putting together comfort kits! These kits will be distributed to the 3 hospitals that we are currently supplying. We can't wait to be able to expand and consistently supply every hospital in the province, and beyond! Instead of sharing photos, I invite you to watch this 2 minute video to learn more about what we do, and why! I would especially like to thank Emily and Heather for giving up their long weekend Saturday and time with their families to help get'er done! You are all amazing! I am so honoured to be working with nurses who REALLY care about stopping gender based violence, serving the public with care, compassion, empathy and no judgement. I hope you and your families have had a great long weekend! I certainly have! If you would like to assist in anyway, please reach out! Together, we CAN change the world! I would like to thank NB Lung - Poumon NB for the generous donations of t shirts, folders, mugs, water bottles, pens and pads! Due to their rebranding we were able to accept items they could no longer use. Trust that these will go a LONG way to supporting the patients we serve!
I would like to thank Lift: The Bra Project NB for again generously donating almost 40 sports bras to our kits! This is an incredible service that helps so many in our community! I would like to thank the L.P. Fisher Public Library - Bibliothèque publique for the space and time to meet and assemble our kits! This is a rural province and we need to find safe, central free locations to meet at! We are very grateful! I would like to thank the Rotaract Club of Woodstock for their support in gathering donations - we have finally used them all up! As well for the fundraising you have done on our behalf! We hope to work together again! We would like to thank Kim Pearson and the #emmaspjs for the donations! I would like to thank Lori Campbell and Campbell's Towing & Auto Sales/Service for agreeing to be a donation drop off location! We would like to thank RVCC River Valley Caring Communities for supporting us and helping us further our work! We thank so many people who help us out! It takes a long time to gather donations and supplies and a lot of lifting and storage space! That is why we have come up with some simpler ways to fundraise and for you to donate! Please check out our donation page on our website www.werehereforyou.ca Easy ways to help while you scroll on your FB or iPad! You can ask for more info via DM! (we LOVE gift cards too!)
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![]() I am thrilled to say our calendar has been booked and busy this month! I keep wanting to say this is a month end report, when in fact, we are only half way through the month! We have been hard at work, actively working to raise awareness about gender based violence, sexual assault and intimate partner violence. As of today, we have made three presentations - all in the past week and all focused on youth. I was able to present to a group of 60 grade 8 boys from several schools last week - we did this as our project but with the RVCC - River Valley Caring Communities group in Woodstock. We also completed our Love Shouldn't Hurt (LSH) Champion Training and we held a forum for youth/young adults in Marysville, NB - working with the LSH and Graduate Student Association of UNB to host two interactive forums. The events were well received and we created new partnerships and networking. Our goals are to reduce and eradicate gender based violence and we believe that through sharing stories, and educating youth on what healthy relationships look like; how to communicate effectively; having a clearer understanding of what consent means, and learning to have self-love, that they will have greater success in life! I believe that sharing strategies for success, understanding how to identify RED flags and GREEN flags that people can recognize sooner and express more clearly what they accept in their lives. I am going to share a video here that was impactful and an easy way to share with young people what consent means. I would love to get your feedback on that! We still have half of the month left! We need donations and support to continue our work! We are actively applying for grants to expand and multiply our project as we know it is very important! Please consider helping us! We have a donation drive this week! If you are in Woodstock, NB you can donate at Campbell's Auto and Towing - we will pick up donations on Saturday morning, May 20th before we get together to pack and assemble the kits! If you are in Fredericton and Saint John, please contact me to arrange pick up as I will be in both cities this month! Currently our need is great for just about everything! I invite you to follow the link to the HOW YOU CAN HELP page and the DONATIONS page if you would like to make a financial donation! We also have an Amazon Wish List which you can order from, use for ideas or reach out with your ideas! We plan to assemble kits on Saturday, May 20, 2023 at the LP Fisher Library from 2 to 5pm! Feel free to join us! It is fun, important and appreciated - by us, the nursing staff and especially the patients who have had the courage and strength to reach out for help at an incredibly traumatic time! Thanks for sharing the love and spreading the word! TOGETHER WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD!
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Sarah Sherman - Founder of We're Here For You - Comfort Kit ProjectThe founder of this project, Sarah Sherman, felt compelled to help other women, children and young men - who find themselves seeking help after a sexual assault. From personal experience, Sarah knows the trauma of having to get help from the RCMP, going to the ER and the devastating experience of having to undergo a rape kit from a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) which can take several hours. The nurses are amazing, but nothing makes it feel any better. At the end of the exam, Sarah recalled what it was like to put on clothing that did not fit right, was inappropriate for herself and to walk out of the room with nothing. She wanted to do something that would make this recovery a little bit less intimidating for the next person. She hoped to help provide them with some dignity, respect and equality as they make their way through what will inevitably be a long journey of working through justice, healing and recovery. |
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