Liberty Lane

Another beautiful life lost. We will be thinking of her children and family at this very sad time.

Liberty Lane will be closing at Noon today for a well-needed Christmas break. Before we leave, we are pleased to advise that all our sponsored families have received their gifts and gift cards. It has been a very busy and emotional few weeks as we have been able to provide for 50 families thanks to our incredible sponsors. It has been so wonderful to connect and listen to the stories of why they chose to sponsor this year, why they chose Liberty Lane, how much fun they had p...lanning, purchasing and wrapping, how whole families, friends, community organizations and work places have come together, and how so many would like to do it all over again next year, giving others a Christmas to celebrate and remember. It has shown us how strong the true spirit of Christmas is here in Fredericton. We are beyond grateful for all the incredible support we have received and all the people we have met throughout the year. From our Liberty Lane families and our staff, we wish you all a wonderful Christmas, and a happy, healthy New Year.

What an incredible feeling as the Christmas gifts and gift cards start to roll in from our Christmas Sponsors. This year, Liberty Lane Sponsors are taking care of of at least 43 resident and community families (including 63 children) with gifts and gift cards, giving them a Christmas to treasure. That is 30 more families than the previous year. The generosity of our Christmas Sponsors will also allow us to assist with gift cards on an as needed basis well into the New Year. I...t is amazing to hear from Sponsors on how grateful and privileged they themselves feel in being able to do this for others, and how emotional they become as they hand over the gifts. Many express why they were drawn to be a Christmas Sponsor and how they want to do it all over again next year. Stories that bring a lump to our throats. It is hard to express how emotional we feel as we hear our Sponsors stories and receive these incredible gifts, and I envision many, many tears from liberty Lane staff and Moms as gifts are given out to families. We are so blessed to have lots of boxes of tissues donated, we are going to need them. 'tis the season of ruined make-up and soggy tissues See more

As the weekend arrives, I wanted to take a little time to acknowledge the very small but incredible team we have here at Liberty Lane. In our Outreach Program, we have three wonderful Outreach Workers. Each with different skills and backgrounds, and between them an incredibly diverse knowledge, strength and passion. The work they do with families in the community who are currently experiencing or have left Domestic Violence literally saves lives. Did you know N.B. has the hi...ghest rate of police-reported Domestic Violence victims in the Atlantic Provinces, that more people are killed by their partners in N.B. than in other Atlantic Province and more family related murder-suicides happen in N.B. than anywhere else in Canada. Our Outreach Workers served 582 Domestic Violence victims last year, 103 more than the previous year, and we are already tracking higher figures this year, due to the Pandemic. In our Second Stage program, our Resident Support Worker has so much time, empathy and compassion for our 10 Resident families (which includes 12 children). She is non-judgmental, objective and so incredibly wise. You can't help but feel better having spoken with her. She runs our mandatory groups on Self-Esteem, Assertiveness, Self-Love, etc. helping our women grow in confidence and move forward in their lives. This is just one part of her multi-faceted role. She is is the jack of all trades and will turn her hand to what ever is needed. And as the last member of the team, the Executive Director keeps the doors open and the lights on, enabling these incredible women to do what they do best. The work can be incredibly hard, but also incredibly rewarding. It has huge ups and downs, and we have our wins and fails. The resilience of the Liberty Lane team as they come into work day after day and continue to fight for our client's lives, is nothing short of astounding. From this "boss" to her team, I am so thankful for you and I am proud to work with and for you. Alyson Pizzey Executive Director Liberty Lane

Update to our Christmas Sponsor Program It has been a really busy day communicating with sponsors and families, and sending out the lists we have received so far. We are waiting for more lists to arrive, and of course we are checking them twice. We thank everyone for their patience and we will be back at it bright and early tomorrow morning. ... Thank you so much Fredericton...you are amazing

New Update - Christmas Sponsor Program To date we have matched 50 Christmas Sponsors with families. We are still awaiting Christmas gift lists from 3 families and are hoping to match a further 10 Sponsors today. We thank everyone for their patience, and we will be working hard at the matching today. ... We are overwhelmed and humbled at the generosity and kindness that has been directed our way. On behalf of all our families, we thank you.

Thank you to everyone has called, emailed and Facebook messaged us about our Christmas Sponsorship program for families who have experienced Domestic Violence. We have had a completely unexpected and overwhelming response to our Facebook post, which has prompted us to reach out to more Liberty Lane families and offer them a sponsor, a further 12 families just today. Due to the tremendous response we have received, we have opened up a second route for Christmas Sponsors. We o...ften witness how families struggle not only with Christmas, but every day to meet their basic needs, and we want to help reduce some of the other financial burdens experienced at this time of year. For example, being behind on your NB Power bill with the threat of disconnection, struggling to buy groceries or medications, put gas in the car, all place a huge stress on our families. And doing the fun activities such as going to the movies or out for a meal, that so many of us take for granted, are not usually experienced. Sponsoring a family with the purchase of NB Power gift cards, grocery cards, gas cards, movie cards, etc., can provide a longer term benefit. It gives peace of mind that can last well into the New Year. The added benefit of this option, is that it also makes shopping quicker and easier in this Covid era. If you are interested in sponsoring a family for Christmas, with gift cards, please feel free to Facebook message us, call us on 451 2120, or email us at [email protected] Thank you once again Fredericton. You are amazing. See more

Abusers love excuses. They only yelled at you because they were drunk. They only hit you because they were hit as children. They’re only abusive because they’re depressed. It’s not their fault. Spoiler alert: Those excuses are lies. https://www.domesticshelters.org//abuse-cannot-be-blamed-o

Liberty Lane wishes to show it's support for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, an international campaign to challenge violence against women and girls. The campaign runs every year from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day.

Liberty Lane are still looking for Christmas Sponsors/Angels for families who have left Family Violence. Christmas can be a very stressful time. More often than not, families are starting fresh with very little, and in some cases, with nothing at all. All our families are low income, and for so many it is difficult enough providing the basic necessities of life, let alone providing a Christmas meal or gifts. You can make our families’ Christmas that much brighter by particip...ating in our Sponsor a Family for Christmas program, and help give parents and kids a Christmas they would not have otherwise. Your commitment provides families with gifts under the tree and your donation goes directly to a specific family. Families may reside at Liberty Lane, but we also have families in the community via our Domestic Violence Outreach Program who are in need. The following Sponsorship budgets are recommended for equity purposes: Single Person: $150 Families: $150 for mom + $250 for each child (i.e. $400 total for a 1-child family, $650 total for a 2-child family, $900 total for a 3-child family, etc.) How it works: Determine your budget level and Liberty Lane will match you with a family. We can accept sponsorship commitments as early as November. Receive your customized list. It will give details of the gender and age of the children, and sizes needed for clothes and shoes if required. You are not obligated to buy everything on the list, we will ask the parent to highlight the most important items, but please try to honor the budget you committed to, or we will have some very disappointed children. Go shopping. All items should be new and in original wrapping. No used items please. Wrap mom’s presents, so she will have gifts to open on Christmas Day. Please provide gift wrap, bags, bows, tape, if possible, for mom to wrap the children’s presents. This allows mom the excitement of wrapping the presents to put under the tree. Presents should be delivered to Liberty Lane approximately 2 weeks before Christmas. The deadline for delivery is 1 week before., This allows us time to determine if anything else was needed or forgotten and to deliver. Sponsors are unable to deliver directly to families, due to confidentiality purposes. Enjoy your Christmas, knowing that you have given the gift of Christmas to another. If you are not able to assist with Sponsorship, there are many other ways to help families enjoy Christmas. We can accept gift cards for various local grocery stores and gas stations, etc., gift cards for movies, local days out & fun experiences, etc. Spread the holiday joy! Email us or call (506) 451-2120 to become a Christmas Angel for a Liberty Lane family.

Liberty Lane wishes to say a huge Thankyou and Congratulations to Kael Kennedy and Aaron Estabrooks for their initiative, effort and thoughtfulness this Halloweeen. Kael and Aaron had a goal of raising $500 for Liberty Lane with their Halloween Fundraiser. Further to promoting their Fundraiser on various radio stations and an interview with the Gleaner, they had already smashed through that figure even before going out on Halloween. Donations poured in accompanied by some am...azing comments such as "May more young men realize the difference they can make by speaking out against Domestic Violence". At last count, these amazing young men raised $2,700 for Liberty Lane. Kael, Aaron, we could not be more thrilled of your incredible accomplishment. You are truly inspirational. We hope to have you on board again next year