New home for transition house
Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services
Iqaluit (Mar 26/01) - The sun shining through the windows of the women's shelter is indicative of the new mood found within.
So says Trish Hughes-Wieczorek, the executive director of the Agvvik Society, the organization that runs the Baffin region's Qimaavik Transition House for Abused Women.
| Longer in transition
The executive director of the Baffin region's Agvvik Society said last week more and more women were staying for longer periods of time in the women's shelter. A program of the Agvvik Society, the Qimaavik Transition House for Abused Women offers up to six weeks of shelter to women seeking refuge from abusive situations. "The housing crunch gets tough for abused women who literally have no place to go," said Trish Hughes-Wieczorek. However, while the number of women remaining for more than six weeks was on the rise, she said that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. "Six weeks really isn't very long," she said.
"It gives the women and staff longer together to make plans and to find housing and get the paperwork together she might need," she said.
|
"Just the physical space, the fact that there are places to meet and places to be quiet ... brought a whole lightening of the mood," said Hughes-Wieczorek. "People were on top of each other (at the old building) and stressed out. The atmosphere could get tense. There's so much less of that now."
Earlier this winter, the women of Qimaavik bid their home of 10 years good-bye and moved down the hill to the Apex location. The number of beds increased to 23 from 15 -- good news for a facility that usually operates at over-capacity -- and Hughes-Wieczorek said things like the increased kitchen space and the new children's playroom meant they didn't feel nostalgic about leaving the old facility.
Hughes-Wieczorek said the next step was to secure funding to develop the new programs they now have the room to offer. To date, the shelter runs a visiting program for clients and ex-clients, a healing circle, a sewing program and a painting workshop for mothers and children.
It would seem in fact, that the only problem with the new location is its distance from Iqaluit. Hughes-Wieczorek said staff were spending a lot on cabs.
"I haven't heard from any women who said it stopped them from trying to come, but we have asked for help from (drivers)," she said.
Qimaavik inherited the former territorial drug and alcohol treatment centre last fall. A $250,000 forgivable loan from the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation paid for changes to the security system.
