Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
Are you in an unhealthy relationship and you need some assistance breaking away from it or finding ways to cope with it?
Peace River Regional Women’s Shelter is offering an Adult Outreach program that provides one-on-one support to people who are dealing with many relationship problems, including domestic violence or other concerns.
Family Violence Prevention advocate Nadine Kamieniecki says the program can help navigate situations that people feel they cannot break free from.
“Adult Outreach is a program that is available to men, women and anyone 18 or older within a 100-km radius of Peace River (except towards Fairview, we cover Berwyn, anything after Berwyn is Fairview Shelter jurisdiction) who have been impacted by intimate partner violence or unhealthy relationships or need extra assistance,” she says.
“Meetings can take place in the person’s home, the community, in the office, over the phone, on Zoom or Google Meets, or any platform that works for the person,” she adds. “The program runs all year round and is client focused, focusing on individual needs of people and their goals.”
Kamieniecki says the programming and service is confidential and judgement free, so people can feel comfortable knowing their concerns are private, and it is a safe zone.
“Along with individual needs the Adult Outreach team also offers public education and are trained in various supports such as Circle of Safety, a pilot project with Women Shelters Canada which is a collaborative safety planning process for women at high risk of Family Violence,” she says.
“The circle process uses interest-based questioning to find the needs the woman identifies and safety plans that work for her.”
Kamieniecki explains the shelter has staff training in Leading Change, a training that is offered to end gender-based violence. She says the training can be brought into schools, workplaces, businesses, sports groups and communities by staff facilitators to speak about gender stereotypes and gender norms and how to break the cycle of abuse through Leading Change.
“We also offer community presentations for all ages on topics such as Healthy Relationships, Domestic Violence, Family Violence, identifying abuse, and how to address it once identified,” she says.
“We are happy to come into schools, workplaces and community agencies and bring this knowledge and awareness to everyone we can. Our goal is to end violence for all as we believe that everyone deserves a life that is free from violence and abuse.”
Participants in the program will have access to individual goal planning, supportive listening, assistance with paperwork, danger assessments, referrals to agencies and community resources, case consultations with other agencies, support in court and support at any appointments in the community.
Kamieniecki says other topics include discussing healthy relationships, safe and supportive relationships, domestic and dating violence, safety strategies, honouring resistance, self-care and self-love.
Anyone who would like assistance with any of the above should participate in the program.
“The Adult Outreach Program helps to (bridge) the gap of services lacking within Northern Alberta,” she explains. “The Outreach team is trained in many areas including crisis support, ASIST, Danger Assessments and more and are aware and have connections to many other agencies within the Peace Region that the team can refer to. The Adult Outreach program is not therapy, although it offers a safe space for all people to come, share their story, receive support and validation and work towards their goals, not what other people believe should be the next steps for them.”
If you would like to participate in Adult Outreach text Ann Fritz at (780) 625-1545, Kamieniecki at (780) 625-4899, or go to the Shelter’s website at www.prrws.com.
“If anyone you know or if you are experiencing any violence do not hesitate to reach out,” she says.