New free group to helps survivors of sexualized violence
Survivor’s Hope Crisis Centre has created a space where survivors of sexualized violence, ages 13 and up, can come together and support each other. They have recently started their SARAH Circle support group, which will come together once a month in Selkirk so that residents in our region have an additional resource to find support in our community.
“The SARAH Circle is part of our SARAH program, which stands for —Sexual Assault Recovery And Healing— and while we have primarily offered crisis support and short term and long term counseling through this program, we saw the need for having a reoccurring, consistent support group,” said Gillian Schofield, Executive Director of Survivor’s Hope Crisis Centre.
Survivor’s Hope has been a part of our community for many years now, hosting crisis counselling and support programming to support survivors and those affected by sexualized violence, as well as prevention programming for students, and community outreach programming which makes our entire community more informed about sexualized violence. This is their latest endeavour to bring additional support to their service area, which serves the Interlake and East Man. area.
“(The SARAH Circle) is an open group that happens monthly, on the last Monday of the month, from 6 to 8 p.m. in Selkirk at 242 Manitoba Ave. It’s a space where anyone who’s been impacted by sexualized violence, whether that is a first-hand experience, or whether you’ve been supporting someone who has experienced sexualized violence. Everyone is welcome to attend — 13 years and older — all genders, and registration is not required, as we know, often, that can create a barrier for folks to have to commit to something. We welcome folks just to show up as they are. It’s led by two of our SARAH counsellors, and it’s just a space where folks can share similar stories and come together collectively to share resources and empower each other and validate each other,” said Schofield.
Residents in our region should know that this group is open to people in the whole region, not just people from Selkirk.
“We know it’s great for folks that live close to Selkirk or in Selkirk, but we also know we see people attending from other communities as well that maybe want to access support outside of their small town,” said Schofield.
She explained that there was a pull from both the staff at Survivor’s Hope as well as advisors from the community, who both independently brought forth the idea to do something like this.
“We were actually meeting with some of our counsellors to see if there were any additional workshops or things that we could be doing in the community to better support survivors. And, since our counsellors are working one-on-one with them, we were bouncing ideas around. At the same time last year, we had assembled an advisory council to get different perspectives on how we could improve our practices, or if there were any gaps that we could address. One of the things that we heard from survivors was that they would like to have a consistent support group or circle where they could gather together. So, we were kind of at the same idea with our counsellors, and then meeting with the advisory council and then this came together,” said Schofield.
The group itself is survivor-led, which means that month to month there aren’t specific topics or a set schedule. This flexibility means that survivors can bring forward topics when they want to discuss them, keeping the environment open to all attendees regardless of where they are in their healing journeys.
“It’s organic conversations. The counsellors are there to help navigate some of those conversations and intervene when needed, and support the healing process as well. This can bring up a lot of emotions and a lot of feelings for everyone. So, it is just a safe, open space for folks to share where they’re at,” said Schofield.
In addition to the group being a place for survivors to be able to find healing, this group, just by existing, also helps our community to be more aware of the struggles that those who’ve experienced sexualized violence face in our community.
“We know there is still such massive stigma around having experienced sexual violence and sexual assault, especially in rural communities, where folks tend to know each other or know their neighbours, and there’s such a lack of anonymity. Coming to a space (like this), and you can come anonymously — you don’t have to share your name —that’s a super important part as well. To access our counselling services, support groups, any of that, you can come anonymously and even just hear other people’s stories and know that you’re not alone. Know that this is, unfortunately, a normal thing that a lot of folks have experienced and have found coping skills that work for them, or ways of navigating this journey. And, when we can share that collectively, we create the strength and resilience in our community and help empower each other,” said Schofield.
She hopes that people who attend the group come away feeling like they aren’t alone and knowing that there are local supports available for them.
“Not everyone wants to engage in one-on-one counselling, or may not be at that point in their journey yet. I think this is a nice stepping stone, just to know that there is a whole community of folks supporting survivors and sharing resources. I know one conversation that came up was around feelings around attending court, and so that can be discussed. Wherever you are in your journey, there’s support available. (At the group) you can guide that conversation to whatever you’d like, and empower each other and know you’re not alone, and it’s okay to feel the feelings you’re feeling. This is a safe, non-judgmental space,” said Schofield.
If this is something that you’re interested in taking part in, Schofield hopes that you stop by.
“There’s no registration required. So even if you’re on the fence, and then that day, you’re thinking, ‘You know what? Okay, I can do this.’ Just show up and have a coffee and some cookies, sit through it and make the decision, if it’s for you or not. Whether you can gain something out of it, or perhaps just gather some resources for someone else. There’s going to be no pressure to speak or share anything that you don’t want to. You’re welcome to just attend and observe, and obviously, engagement is encouraged,” she said.
To learn more about Survivor’s Hope, check out their website at survivors-hope.ca. They are also looking for volunteers to help with their SARAH Crisis Program, and interested people can find more information on their website.
