Supporting Women and Youth Through Outreach
Written by Barbara Komugisha, Outreach Coordinator
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The past year has been one of constant uncertainty and 2021 continues to bring more of the same in the lives of many Canadians and our global communities. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to rage on, this time with new strains. Stay at home orders have become more severe in Ontario. People have lost their jobs and others are left with no means to support their families other than government programs. Families have broken up and children are going hungry. According to a recent report by Feed Ontario1, there have been a surge in first time users within the first four months of the pandemic. A survey of 20% of Food banks across Ontario reported an ongoing surge of 5 to 54 percent in the use of their services2.
Another disturbing trend is the rise of Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence. Many women and children have found themselves on the streets with no place to call home. Some shelters reported receiving up to 700 calls a day for help, in comparison to pre-covid on a weekly basis. The most recent data3 indicates even though the rates of increased violence are still unknown, what is evident are the risk factors such as substance abuse, parental stress, financial stress, and social pressures. This includes the inability to safely reach out to services that are still open. Canada does not officially collect race-based data, so it is still unknown the real impact of all types of abuse on Black and other Racialized women since the pandemic.
Hence with the funding from the Federal Government’s COVID-19 Emergency Funds, administered through The Canadian Red Cross, Maama Watali produced and delivered a series of webinars and community discussions called “Strong Men Strong Women” on Social Abuse and all forms of gender violence.
Included in the project was an allocation of $2,600 to further assist women and their families. As the Outreach Coordinator for the project, I had an opportunity to connect with several women and youth shelters to enquire about their needs. Masks and personal items were high on their list of priorities. Three hundred reusable masks were designed and made by a local Entrepreneur, Brenda Williams4 and owner of New Life Project Inc. So far five organisations have received 30 masks each and gift cards valued at one hundred dollars. The Haven Too Shelter operated at the Fourth Avenue Baptist Church in the Glebe, received a cheque for $100.00 towards their breakfast program.
It was a humbling experience for me as a newcomer to Ottawa and Canada to witness the appreciation which was seen as a significant gesture.
Maama Watali is committed to the prevention of all forms of abuse by educating, building alliances, and enabling Black and other Racialised Women and their families in the Ottawa area to heal and rebuild their lives.
Below are some of the responses from the beneficiaries. We were also given permission to post photos on our website.
“Your gift helps us serve 200 women each day. Last year, we helped over 600 women out of the approximately one thousand that become homeless in our community each year.”
“With your powerful gift of 30 cloth masks and a $100 gift card to Shoppers Drug Mart, a woman will have a permanent, safe place to call home. Thank you.” Sarah Davis, Executive Director, Cornerstone Housing for Women
“In this Pandemic, your generosity also helps to cover the costs of virus-fighting initiatives and supplies, as we have had to adapt all of our services including quadrupling our cleaning efforts, purchasing personal protective equipment, and moving to single-serve food delivery for the residents, ….” Sarah continues.
Jamie a Staff at Operation Come Home had this to say on receiving the donation “Thank you for this donation, the masks look nice, and this was thoughtful of Maama Watali.”
And Andrea Leblanc a volunteer at Evelyn Horne Shelter/Transitional Housing for young women said, “Thank you for thinking about YSB, we appreciate your donation at a time like this”.
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Sources
1. Feed Ontario, Hunger Report, 2020.https://feedontario.ca/research/hunger-report-2020/
3. Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health (CADTH). COVID-19 Impact on Intimate Partner Violence and Child Maltreatment. A Summary of Evidence. Report Updated March 30th, 2021. https://covid.cadth.ca/quickstarts/covid-19-impact-on-intimate-partner-violence-and-child-maltreatment/
4. New Life Project Inc. https://newlifeprojectinc.org/pages/gallery