Medicine Hat Women's Shelter Society

COVID-19 Updates: - Shelter & support services remain available, even if you're experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. NEEDED ITEMS: - Adult winter coats... - Winter boots (kids & adults) - Snow pants - Shampoo, Conditioner & Body Wash (Full-sized) COVID-19 limits what items we can accept. Email [email protected], call 403-527-8223, or message us on social media for donation questions. For a full list of needed items, visit http://mhwss.ca/needs_list.html UPCOMING EVENTS - Family Violence Prevention Month - Memorial Walk Nov. 2, @ 2PM, City Hall - https://fb.me/e/3d5TmH9nQ - Purple Ribbons - Connect with us to help put purple ribbons up through our community! - Virtual Pet Walk Across Alberta - https://fb.me/e/fiwmuHbNQ - Movie - Medicine Hat Public Library. "October Sky" - Nov. 21, @ 2PM. Pre-registration required - FVPM Webinars series - https://www.eventbrite.ca/o/medicine-hat-womens-shelter-soc - Adopt-a-Family program launch http://mhwss.ca/adopt.html Visit mhwss.ca for a full list of FVPM details

Today with SAMHC we began putting up a temporary memorial along the Sunrise Rotary Trail that wraps around Medicine Hat College. The memorial includes the names and stories of the 14 woman killed on Dec. 6th, 1989 at Ecole Polytechnique. This year, we'll still be holding a vigil on Dec. 6th at 4 p.m. to mark the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre, but will broadcast it through Facebook Live to our community so that COVID safety regulations on gatherings are followed. Once c...ompleted, the memorial along the trail will also include the photos and stories of the 22 people killed in Nova Scotia this April. What many people may not realize is that the N.S. gunman's deadly rampage began after he assaulted his common-law wife, and he had a long history of family violence. We know one of the biggest warning signs for mass murder is the person having a history of family violence and committing violence against women. We hope our community will take the time to walk the trail, and read the stories of all these lives taken too soon. The photos and stories will be up until the end of the second week of December. Of note - Today also marks the start of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, an annual international campaign that kicks off on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (today), and runs until Human Rights Day on December 10th.

Thank you Budget Blinds of Medicine Hat and The Foothills for running this campaign again for us!

"This year's Trans Day of Remembrance is perhaps the most sombre yet. By November this year, 350 transgender people - mostly trans women of colour - had been murdered worldwide. That's up from 331 in all of 2019. These numbers are the highest since trans murders started being recorded in 2013." Everyone deserves safety in their homes and communities. MHWSS supports and services are here for our LGBTQ2S+ community. Call our 24/7 help line at 403-529-1091 or 1-800-661-7949 to connect with us.

Do you work with children and youth? Are you a coach? Volunteer with youth organizations in our community? Every one of us has a responsibility to step up if we suspect a child is experiencing abuse and/or neglect - and this free webinar tomorrow is a great way to learn more about this process.

Don't forget to sign up for our free webinar this Friday at noon on how family violence impacts children and youth! We also have webinars running Monday to Friday next week - check out the full list of topics here: www.mhwss.ca/webinars.html

We still have our Virtual Pet Walk underway for Family Violence Prevention Month with the Medicine Hat SPCA! Add your steps to our count by registering at www.worldwalking.org and join our group "Pet Walk across Alberta for Family Violence Prevention Month" (https://worldwalking.org/groups/19hyf) Our Pet Safekeeping Program means that you don't have to leave a pet behind in an unsafe situation if you're needing to come into our shelter. We work with the Medicine Hat SPCA to ensure your beloved animal also has a temporary place to stay, while you decide on your next step.

"A lot of the smart devices are designed on the premise that all persons in the home are happy to share information with one another, but this happy scenario doesn't recognise that there are many variations in family life," she explains. Family apps are used by many to monitor kids' safety. But by design they share a lot of information and can be misused in an abusive relationship.... "They share other pieces of information, such as battery level, which seems like a small innocuous piece of data," Ms Nuttall says. "But in the hands of an abuser, the victim can't escape that barrage of abuse by simply switching off their phone, saying the battery has died."

We popped by the Medicine Hat Public Library Monday to discuss why we selected "October Sky" as the featured movie for Family Violence Prevention Month! The library will be showing the movie in their theatre @ 2pm this Saturday - Pre-registration required by calling 403-502-8525. There's three big reasons why we chose this film about a young man in a coal mining town during the Cold War who is inspired to design rockets with his friends after watching Sputnik launch: 1) One o...f the youth building the rockets is experiencing family violence. It's a chance to reflect and think about what each of us can/would do if we knew a child was experiencing violence in the home. 2) A big theme is the youth breaking the norms of their community by pursuing their dreams and education - a great tie in to the National Day of the Child on Nov. 20th, and the right of children and youth to explore, learn, and set a path for their own future. 3) The movie shows how being tough and stoic is often the expectation for the men in this coal mining community. We felt that this was something extremely relatable to our own community as the much-needed conversation around men's mental health grows. The film is a great launch pad for discussing topics like father-son relationships and all the cultural expectations of "what it means to be a man." Even if you can't join us for the film - we encourage folks to rent/borrow/stream October Sky!

For youth who are experiencing family violence, having a supportive adult in their life can make a world of difference. Sign up for our free webinar tomorrow at noon to learn more about how you can be that person!

A gigantic thank you to the Medicine Hat Elks Lodge 412 for coming by with a generous donation towards our Adopt-a-Family Christmas program! You can help us ensure families accessing our shelters and services won't miss out on Christmas by dropping off new toys, gifts (for all ages) or gift cards at Sun Valley Honda or Davis GMC Buick until December 18th! Visit www.mhwss.ca/adopt.html for more details about our program, including how to make a financial donation, and suggested gift ideas.

Don't miss out on this: Our friends over at SARC are holding a huge virtual fundraiser this Saturday, featuring Séan McCann (Of Great Big Sea fame) and Andrea Aragon! Funds raised will go towards establishing the region's only Child Advocacy Centre. What's a CAC, and why is it important for children who have experienced sexual abuse and trauma? SARC's Executive Director Chris gives a great explanation in this video.