|
|
Jan. 12, 2007
Helping out women
JWI's latest project garnered enormous support.
SARA CIACCI
Every day, hundreds of women seek warmth and solace at local drop-in
centres. Provincially, their number escalates to thousands who annually
require safety and comfort in the all too few locations available
to women. Their growing numbers, combined with cuts to already tight
budgets, mean that most centres struggle to provide many basic necessities.
To help these women, Jewish Women International of Canada (JWIC),
an organization dedicated to ending violence against women, launched
a three-week October campaign in major cities across Canada: the
"Make-a-Bed" project. The campaign was held to collect
bed and bath linens to help make the local centres more comfortable
and to provide each woman with her own set of linens.
A single "Please Help" e-mail request sent by JWIC national
vice-president Isabelle Somekh to friends and JWI-BC members was
all it took to launch the Lower Mainland's Make-a-Bed campaign,
which continued to receive donations into mid-November.
"It is important that we give these women a safe, clean place
to rest their heads, but also that we provide them with the means
to make their own beds in the future," said Somekh. "Most
of these women have experienced abuse in their relationships and
our mission is to end violence against all women. That is why this
drive was so important to us."
The local response was overwhelming. Boxes, bags and carloads of
donated new bath and bed linens that quickly stacked shelves in
a local warehouse were dedicated to the WISH drop-in-centre for
survival sex trade workers. Founded on the underlying principle
that every woman deserves dignity and respect, WISH provides a nurturing
and nonjudgmental environment. It operates six days a week, for
upwards of 150 women per evening, serving hot meals, providing showering
facilities and dispensing make-up, hygiene and clothing items. WISH
also offers on-site nursing care, a literacy program and referrals
to detoxification centres, rehabilitation houses and shelters. For
the survival sex trade workers in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside,
the WISH centre is a safe haven.
The campaign was augmented when Temple Sholom invited members to
collect for JWI-BC projects during the synagogue's Mitzvah Day,
Oct. 29. Infant strollers, car seats and baby needs for Noah's Ark,
non-perishable food for the Jewish Food Bank; garbage bags filled
with socks for the "Street Feet Project" and toothbrushes
and dental supplies for the "Healthy Smiles for the Homeless"
were collected and delivered to various locales: St Paul's Hospital,
St. James Place, the Dr. Peter AIDS Centre, CHIMO Transition House
and Sheway. A huge box of writing paper and pens for out-of-town
maternity patients on strict bed rest was also delivered to St Paul's.
Statistics show that one in every four women is abused. Abusive
behaviors include sexual, psychological, verbal, physical and financial
abuse. As part of its mandate, JWIC addresses the issue of relationship
violence against women in all communities. JWIC develops educational
materials, sponsors public forums and provides alternate short-term
emergency housing (ASTEH) for abused Jewish women and their children.
For membership or information about any of the above JWI-BC projects,
call 604-838-5567. Tax-receiptable donations can be mailed to JWI-BC,
c/o 106-7580 Columbia St., Vancouver, B.C., V5X 4S8.
Sara Ciacci is the domestic violence chair for JWI-BC.
^TOP
|
|
