Journal by a Transition House Women's Support Worker

Women's Support Workers are also referred to as front line workers.  This is because we work directly with individuals in need of advocacy and justice.  This work is on the front lines of the struggle against barriers experienced by some of the most marginalized people in our society.  It is passionate consuming work with profound rewards and difficult emotional stressors.  

Most of us are left at the end of the day with very little energy to think about issues of funding and the financial well being of the organizations we work for.  As a result we are particularly grateful when an organization, such as the Canadian Women's Foundation, takes on a fundraising campaign that raises money which we know will go directly to meet the needs of the women we serve.  

Today a community member made an anonymous donation.  It was just a small amount but the staff team immediately began discussing what we might put the money towards.  Despite the team's strong feelings that staff are inadequately compensated for the work we do, every suggestion put on the table was for something that would directly benefit the women we work with.  Just a small donation and our dedicated staff joyously directs it towards making a difference.  This is one of the profound rewards of the job that I wrote of earlier.  What a joy it is to witness so much passion to make a difference in a woman's life.

Fundraising is just one of the many essential levels of work that are needed in order to effectively do social change work.  Front line workers, legal aid workers, fundraisers, justice workers, volunteers, police, policy makers, lobbyists and many others make up the community of dedicated people who do anti-violence work in our communities, in our country and in our world.  Without them we would live in a world where there was much less hope and considerably more injustice.  These people need to be supported in their work and given the tools and funds to exceed at doing what they do best.  This means support at the financial but also the political level.  We need to be acknowledged and recognized as the essential services we are in order to end violence against women and children, violence in our communities and to create justice for the marginalized and the survivors.    

The normalization of violence

In the weeks after hip-hop artist Chris Brown allegedly beat and strangled singer Rihanna, a stomach-turning phenomenon happened across North America: acceptance. U.S. reports showed that in Boston, 46% of teens surveyed said that Rhianna was responsible for the violence, and 44% said that physical violence is a normal part of a relationship.
Wrong. Beating a girlfriend is not a normal part of a relationship and is never justified by the victims “provocation”. However teen dating abuse is on the rise and violence in teen relationships have become common.
What can we do to stop violence in the next generation? What can we do to stop the normalization of violence in youth culture?

Journal by a Transition House Women's Support Worker

Attached to the Transition House is a garage we call the Boutique. Over the years dedicated staff have transformed this garage into a miniature thrift store, full of clothing, bedding and household items. We have such a generous community, we receive more donations than we know what to do with and if it weren't for three amazing volunteers it would be just a jumble. But these three fabulous women keep the space organized and welcoming.

Sometimes the donations go to the Transition House itself. All our bedding, pots and pans, kitchen items and pretty much all of our furniture has been donated over the years. As a result the bedding can be a little oddball but like everything else we make it work. When making up a room for a new resident, it is my little habit to try to make the bedding and linens look like a four star hotel. I hope that when the women to walk into their room for the first time and see it looking clean and bright, it makes the whole experience a little less stressful. So I try to match up the bedding, folding blankets so the small hole or rips don't show, folding the towels the way they do in a spa, leaving a pair of slippers and colour coordinating it all. All I am missing is a mint on the pillow and flowers by the bed. It is a challenge, not much matches and lots of the linens are in rough shape but it is fun and it brightens my day to imagine the women feeling welcomed into the room that first time.

Staff do most of the cleaning at the house. We are working on fitting a cleaner into the very tight budget but it might be months or years till it can happen. We ask that women clean and encourage them to do so, most of the women are great about it, but keeping a large house with up to twelve people in it is a big job. Again it is an example of how just that little extra money can soften the corners and free up needed staff time for advocacy and counselling.

The boutique is even more useful for the residents. Often when they leave the abuser the women can take very little with them. The most dangerous time for a women in an abusive relationship is when she leaves; going back to get her things can be scary and impossible. Police will provide an escort but usually only for personal items. As well they can only stay until they get another call which often leaves a woman five to fifteen minutes to gather her things and/or her children's things. As a result, when the women find out about the Boutique they are delighted and once in the space the look on their face just brightens. For some women it means they will have a second pair of clothing to wear the next day.