Samson woman offering support to the abused

Page 10

A Samson Band woman is reaching out to help women in abusive situations.

"We are not alone, we can recover from the abuse by willing ourselves to gain back our own identity," says Florence Ermineskin, urging women, who are being abused to realize they're not the only ones experiencing abuse and to see that help is available.

Having risen to the challenge and broken the abuse cycle, which did have her in its grasp, Ermineskin now wants to help other women in her community do the same thing. She's running a group treatment program, which involves 17 women. It ends in June.

In addition, Ermineskin has started a family support group, which started meeting Feb. 22 and will run through to April. Ermineskin reports that this group has been poorly attended. She feels that often Native women are afraid, ashamed or too shy to take that first step.

But she's encouraging abused women at Hobbema to take advantage of the support of women, who share the same experience.

A second series of workshops entitled Understanding Wife Abuse will take place April 11, 18 and 25 and May 2, 9 and 16 at the Four Nations Resource Center in Hobbema from 2-3 p.m.

The workshops, which include Breaking the Pattern; It Happens Again and Again; Coming and Going; and Can the Cycle Be Broken?, ensure a comprehensive look at the issue of Native women and wife abuse.

Further information may be obtained from Ermineskin at Samson Band office (585-3793).