Agency bestows bursary on court worker

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Lynda Cockerill, a family court worker with Native Counselling Services of Alberta, is one of 10 domestic violence workers recently chosen to be a recipient of one the first Jerry P. Selinger awards.

The awards, named for Calgary's former chief crown prosecutor who passed away in May 2000, are administered by Homefront, a Calgary agency working to prevent domestic violence. The ceremony was held Nov. 7.

Cockerill was cited for her 16 years of service in the field, during which time she has worked in a variety of areas including suicide prevention and parole supervision. She started with Native Counselling Services 17 years ago but took a year off.

The award consists of a $4,000 bursary to be applied to further training so, in addition to the recognition, Cockerill is also presented with a decision about what sort of professional development to pursue. She was also awarded a certificate of achievement from Minister of Children's Services, Iris Evans.

Cockerill said the formal recognition is almost as welcome as the training bursary. "The kind of work we do with people and with the community can be a thankless job, but we believe in it and are committed to it wholeheartedly."

At Native Counselling Services, a non-profit agency, that work takes place in the areas of restorative justice, social programming and community development. The agency handles referrals to lawyers and legal aid and generally ensures its clients are aware of all available options. As a family court worker, Cockerill is in court every weekday morning handling a variety of issues including mediation agreements.

She has not made a decision about what sort of training she will use the award money for, but she has a general idea. "Anything that will give me more tools to help clients," she says. "Healing never ends when it comes to domestic violence and neither can my own growth and understanding of family violence."