ISKWEW – Just One of 300 Groups Making a Difference

By Karen Cay

Community Group News is more than tidbits of minor news. Within the pages of Community Group News are items of information that can, in fact, change people’s lives – perhaps save lives. With more than 300 Groups represented in this area of paNOW, there are many organizations that have critical programs that will not just change individuals, but heal families and help the community.

In February, there have been a horrifying number of suicides. February and March are, in fact, a time when depression hits the hardest – when family breakdowns occur the most often. Where do people turn? It is often complicated to find the solutions you are looking for. With paNOW – a simple scroll down the right hand side of the Community Group News page will lead readers to information on all kinds of support.

One such program is ISKWEW – a program of women helping women.

Being in an abusive relationship is a lifestyle that fills a woman with shame, heart-ache and fear.

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These are women who live in a world that is incredibly small. The abuser may insist on the woman detaching herself from friends and family. Often detachment is self inflicted because she is ashamed of the situation she has found herself in.

Programs such as Tools for Empowerment and the Talking Circles, operated by ISKWEW help women of all demographics find strength and understanding from women who won’t judge but who do understand and can help to heal.

“The Tools for Empowerment Program is a program where women who have been in an abusive relationship can come and get some information, but also meet other women who have walked this walk,” says Angie Bear of ISKWEW. “It is a place to come to help break the cycle.”

The program runs Friday afternoons at the Cooperative Health Centre and is a safe place for women to come anonymously and deal with their issues.

When one talks of the cycle of abuse – it usually means the cycle of an abuser teaching children to abuse. But the other side of the coin, is that the abused person may teach her children to accept abuse. She also, naturally, has issues such as frustration and fear that manifest in ways that are not condusive to good parenting.

Therefore when an abused woman is healed, the family is healed as well because she has transcended the victim mode, has found ways to deal with memory and emotions and is therefore able to raise emotionally healthy children.

ISKWEW is a Cree word for Woman – but the program is not just for First Nations Women. ISKWEW provides guidance and support for women of all ages, all income levels and all situations.

“We have the Tools for Empowerment Program and we have a Talking Circle that is just starting up again at Bernice Sayese Centre 1-3 p.m. February 27th – but many, many times, we meet women where they are. I have gone to their homes, met women for a cup of coffee. We meet women in a way that suits their situation and, of course, it is completely anonymous,” she says.

One of the problems with dealing with the subject of abuse is the stereotype that this only happens in “bad” homes to low income – maybe uneducated people. This stereotype is completely untrue, and Bear believes that the need to put up a façade to try to make the world believe their family is “normal” keeps many women from seeking help.

“It is a very difficult thing. The two programs are great in that they provide a community for women who understand each other, but some women are unable to attend for various reasons. This is why it is such an important part of our service that we meet women where they are. I have even talked to women in a parking lot – maybe from their work,” she says.

Tools for Empowerment has a different topic each week. Some meetings are for fun and relaxation. A Spa Day was the women’s treat most recently. Other days, there are discussions about anger and other more serious topics. There are Facilitators including elders from Prince Albert who come to talk to the group and then coffee and treats are served.

The Talking Circle is just that – a time for women to just talk it out in a safe environment, led by either Bear or Rhonda Auger who is the other ISWEW facilitator.

It’s a big step to make that first call to an organization like ISKWEW but, according to Bear, the benefits for an entire family or for an individual woman, outweigh the fear.

For these and other life-changing groups, check out Community Group News.