Medicine Hat Women's Shelter Society volunteer and donations co-ordinator Deidre Geisbrecht helps tie purple ribbons throughout the city's downtown to raise awareness for Family Violence Prevention Month.--NEWS PHOTO KENDALL KING
kking@medicinehatnews.com
Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter Society has an array of activities and events planned throughout November in recognition of Family Violence Prevention Month.
“This month just gives us a great opportunity to really focus on bringing awareness to the issue of family violence,” MHWSS executive director Natasha Carvalho told the News. “And make sure that people understand when it’s happening in their community, they can help to prevent it.”
Defined as any form of abuse which takes place within and effects members of a family or intimate partner unit, family violence can include physical, sexual, emotional, financial abuse, as well as neglect.
“It doesn’t always have to be about bruises, broken limbs and black eyes,” said Carvalho. “It’s anything where one person has more power over the other person and has control over that other person.”
Some of the best methods of preventing family violence, Carvalho says, is to enhance the public’s understanding of family violence and increase awareness about the different support services available to individuals experiencing such locally – two things she hopes will be achieved through MHWSS’s planned November awareness events.
The first event – the eighth annual public Memorial Walk – took place Tuesday afternoon, following a declaration signing by Mayor Linnsie Clark, which officially recognized November as Family Violence Prevention Month.
“The walk honours anybody who’s lost their lives to family violence,” Carvalho said. “We walk downtown and tie purple ribbons (the symbol of Family Violence Prevention Month) on trees. And with the ribbons, we often have cards tied to them that explain a little bit about family violence and where people can go to reach out for help.”
Another walk MHWSS has planned is the annual Pet Walk – hosted in partnership with Medicine Hat’s SPCA – which aims to recognize the impact family violence has on pets. The walk will take place at 1 p.m. on Nov. 13, starting from the Kin Coulee toboggan hill.
As well as walks, MHWSS also has several information events planned throughout the month, including the inaugural Coffee Chat community event taking place at 10 a.m. on Nov. 8 at the Medicine Hat Public Library, during which MHWSS will be on site to provide information to the community about family violence. An inaugural free-of-charge elder abuse awareness training session also runs from 10 a.m. to noon on Nov. 24 at the Veiner Centre (registration required, call 403-529-8307).
As well, MHWSS and its community partners are offering free information webinars throughout the month, beginning Thursday. To see a full list of topics, visit http://www.mhwss.ca/fvpm2022-webinars.
Finally, Carvalho invites community members to show support for victims of family violence by taking part in the month-long purple ribbon campaign or the #iwearpurplebecause social media campaign. More details on MHWSS’s website.
