Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
If you’re looking for new friends, look no further than Feb. 26’s Speedy Social at Peace River Brewing from 6-8 p.m.
Peace River Regional Women’s Shelter (PRRWS) outreach team member Nadine Robinson says they are excited to be welcoming back both Speed Friending and Speed Dating in upcoming weeks.
“We are co-hosting both Speedy Social (Speed Friending) and Date ‘N’ Dash (Speed Dating) with Peace River Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) Tamara Brunham and Restorative Justice’s Sarah Dawe along with my coworker, Margaret Nidish, Family Violence Prevention advocate here at the shelter,” says Robinson.
“There are numerous people reaching out for relationship building opportunities. Creating these experiences while delivering important messages about positive relationship attributes can assist participants in understanding their own wants and needs,” she adds.
Robinson says before the events, each organization will provide some information on relationships, friendships and resources available in the community. Paper resources will be available to review and pick up.
“There is no cost to attend either Speedy Social or Date ‘N’ Dash and no registration is required for Speedy Social,” Robinson says.
“Registration will be up once the dates are confirmed for Date ‘N’ Dash. Only cost is any snacks or drinks that participants wish to purchase for themselves throughout the event,” she adds.
Speedy Social requires attendees to be 18 year or older, and there will be four series of groups for Date N’ Dash, with dates to be released in upcoming weeks. Date nights will feature four categories, 20-26-year-olds, 26-38-year-olds, 38-54 year-olds, and LGBTQIA1S+.
“Age ranges can be important for some people because of life experiences, maturity levels and we want to help maximize potential match- es,” explains Robinson.
“Having healthy opportunities to meet people in person is important. Most people these days are meeting online and this doesn’t meet everyone’s needs.”
Robinson says people who attend events with the intention to meet others, show a certain level of maturity.
“We feel that having the dating aspect hosted by support organizations provides an extra sense of security and resources available,” she explains.
“No one will be pressured to do anything they don’t want to and will have resources available even after the events if anyone has additional support or questions about healthy relationships, signs of domestic violence, Clare’s Law, tips on how to stay safe when dating/ forming connections and more,” Robinson adds.
By hosting in a public space, people will feel safer, and it allows them to become familiar with Peace River Brewing and create safety there, encouraging people to meet in public spaces first when connecting with people.
“Date ‘N’ Dash creates a low-pressure environment where you can have brief conversations with many people, knowing that each person is there for the same reason can ease people’s minds and there are no hard feelings or extra pressure due to the nature of the event,” she explains.
“Wintertime can be depressing. We aim to create opportunities for social inclusion and well-being so our community can thrive.”
For more information on the event or to keep abreast of upcoming speed dating dates, please follow Peace River Women’s Shelter on Facebook.
Peace River Brewing hosting a Women’s Shelter event seems unbelievable given most residents of the shelter are victims of alcohol abusers.