LAC LA BICHE - Hope Haven Women’s Shelter in Lac La Biche will be bringing Family Violence Prevention Month to the community differently this year due to COVID. The significance of the November awareness month has been highlighted this year with a sharp increase in clients and needed programming at the Lac La Biche-based shelter. Since January, the emergency shelter—which can accommodate 21 individuals at a time in short-stay durations — served 98 women and 67 children. For the year, leading up to the start of November, shelter staff received a total of 871 crisis calls, compared to 546 the previous year.
The COVID crisis continues to create a lot of mental and family challenges, as well as health-related ones, says Hope Haven’s executive director Melissa Green, explaining that the pandemic has again affected how the shelter will promote the special awareness month this year.
Annually, the Lac La Biche shelter conducts a Walk of Hope march throughout the hamlet with school students and community members participating. The long trek, says Green, ends at Portage College where educational staff provide important presentations and tools to the community to raise awareness. Due to pandemic measures and mandates, she says, this is the second year the community event has been cancelled — but this year, staff had had more notice to find alternate ways to get the community awareness to residents.
“Through a lot of chatting and ideas, we came up with the idea of a scavenger hunt,” she says, explaining that clues will be announced once a week on the Hope Haven social media site and placed in public areas around the hamlet. Prizes will be offered to searchers. The scavenger hunt and its promotion will allow the organization to spread awareness through its own social media channels.
“The Internet is such a big way of life now and so is social media. It’s not something that we were necessarily transitioning to before COVID, but we were utilizing more … once we are through this pandemic and can meet in person more, we will continue to do both.”
It's been challenging to create events since the pandemic started with rules and outbreaks constantly changing, she says. A recently planned Casino Night Fundraiser was supposed to provide crucial resources to the shelter — but was postponed indefinitely due to COVID.
“We had to cancel it twice because things were looking up, and then not. It’s hard to commit to anything in person…” she says.
Prevention Programs
Where they can, throughout the month, the non-profit organization will continue to have outreach staff visit schools to provide interactive lessons, preventative measures and resources to students about family violence. Outreach staff will also encourage students to take part in ‘kindness’ exercises and promoting others in their classrooms for charitable needs and kindness.
“We will get them to choose a student that stands up to bullying or is kind of an exemplary student to highlight within the school … they get a prize from us as well.”
Involving the community, through schools, fundraising ideas and promotions is vital, says Green, since families can experience difficulties at any time, providing the tools to all areas of the community helps to spread the message.
During November’s month of awareness, Hope Haven will also team up with Lac La Biche County’s Family and Community Support Services on scheduled family presentations.
“On Thursday, I’m going to focus on our crisis line as well because I think a lot of people overlook our crisis line and think that it's just to phone if you want to come into the shelter. But, it's for people to call when they are in any type of crisis and need that support and lay counselling…we take calls from men and women.”
Challenges
While virtually connecting to the shelter, programming and emergency contact is effective, it does still provide challenges relating to connectivity issues and privacy.
"Our clients might not have access to a computer, and if they do sometimes the Internet doesn’t support anything through video,” said Green, explaining that while the pandemic has closed down much of the organization’s in-person networks, it hasn’t simply been a matter or switching seamlessly to virtual contact. “It has been the biggest challenge over the pandemic as well as for Family Prevention Month. We’re trying to get these things out there, but that always has to be in the back of our minds.”
One recent pivot was the purchase of a dedicated cell phone for clients and outreach staff to communicate through text message because a cell phone plan with calling services isn’t always viable or comfortable for everyone.
“I think it’s easier than showing up face-to-face, but it also is a hard thing to do; to get the courage sometimes to even make that phone call,” said Green, adding that new ideas and new ways to present programming options is always happening.
She is optimistic that the outreach staff at the facility and the relationship with local agencies will continue to foster and improve positive support systems, awareness and provide comfort for those in need.
The safety and well-being of the client is always the top priority — no matter what challenges are in the way.
“Sometimes it took all their courage to make that one call—to reach out for help—and they might not want to do it again. It’s about building that connection during that first contact so that we can help them move forward,” Green said. “I want people to reach out if they need that support. Even if you’re not ready to leave yet, you can still have those conversations and learn more about what’s going on.”
There is always a place to turn for help at the shelter, she says. The shelter will remain open to those in need, having never closed its doors during the pandemic nor in the future. The 24/7 crisis line can be reached at 1-866-727-4623, locally at 780-623-3100, or by text.
To find out more about the programming, fundraising efforts and community awareness — including this month's Family Violence Awareness Month scavenger hunt — go to the Hope Haven Women’s Shelter social media.
