Funding allows shelter staff to continue work with children

Additional funding from the federal government will allow the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters to continue to help First Nations children who have witnessed violence.

Walking the Path, a program initiative of the ACWS, began as a pilot project in 2009. The program has been extended for an additional 21 months with the new funding.

Living with violence in the home can have a huge impact on children, affecting their whole future, says program manager Dorothy Sam.

“The children have been exposed to family violence and we are here to try to end the cycle of violence so it’s not normalized. When you grow up with it in the home, you think that’s the way it’s the way it’s supposed to be,” she said.

Staff, who work with both children and their families, are flexible and tailor the program in each shelter to the specific activities most suitable to that location, ranging from arts to sports, or from after-school programs to workshops.

Jan Reimer, executive director of the ACWS, says the program is rooted in the traditional teachings and practices that place the child at the centre of the community.

“This project has been life-changing for everyone involved. It’s created new ways of doing shelter work, created new tools where none existed and most importantly it’s created hope,” she said.
Women typically stay in a shelter for 21 days, which is not much time to make important changes, says Sam.

“This project extends the contact and programming after that time. During the first phase, the staff worked with the families for two and a half years, and were able to build up a good relationship and a lot of trust,” she said. “By that time, the women were able to build up trust and talk about issues.”

The focus is on the family, so all members can receive assistance. Too often, programming does not extend to abusers, who are sadly in need of help themselves, adds Sam.

“The spouses can be part of the program. The kids are together with the parents and are building up relationships with each other,” she said.

The project currently is working with 67 families, with over 300 participants

through five shelters: Bigstone Cree Nation Women’s Emergency Shelter, Eagle’s Nest Stoney Family Shelter, Ermineskin Women’s Shelter Society, Paspew House (Fort Chipewyan/Mikisew Cree) Women’s Shelter and Sucker Creek Women’s Emergency Shelter.
“The worker taught me to ask for help when I needed it. Not to be ashamed for needing help and not to be afraid to ask for help. She never gave up on me and my kids,” said one mother, in summing up her experience.

The ACWS is a non-profit organization with 43 sheltering organizations as members throughout the province.

Walking the Path Together project is a partnership with the Government of Alberta’s Safe Communities Fund.