Remembrance and Renewal—A National Day of Action

December 6 Fundraiser to Support Nanaimo Women’s Centre

Sixteen years ago on the campus of Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique, 14 women lost their lives in a shooting now known as the Montreal Massacre. The terror of this incident intensified with the knowledge that these women were murdered simply because they were women. Since December 6, 1989, the anniversary of this event has become a day of remembrance, and in 1991, the Parliament of Canada named December 6 the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

This December 6, Rights and Democracy Nanaimo Delegation is hosting Remembrance and Renewal: A National Day of Action in memory of these 14 women and in support of the Nanaimo Women’s Centre. The event will take place at Malaspina University-College at 7pm, in the lounge located in building 355. If you are able to, it would be wonderful if you could attend.

The evening will feature a wine-tasting and social, with musical performances by Joan Wallace and Barry Hall, Merisa Donoghue and The Dirty Flannel Dawg with Special Guest Emily Celeste. There will be a silent auction of works by artists including Sheila Norgate, Eva Manly and Patrick Amos, as well as holiday-inspired gift items from Nanaimo businesses. All funds raised will be donated to the Nanaimo Women’s Centre, which lost its core funding in the spring of 2004 due to Provincial government cutbacks.

Tickets are $10 and can be bought in advance from Lifestyles Health and Fitness Center, Catwalk, Global Village and the Nanaimo Women’s Centre at 10A Victoria Crescent. Tickets will also be available at the door.

Many thanks for your ongoing support of the Nanaimo Women’s Centre!

Five ways you can help the Nanaimo Women's Centre

1. Take out a membership--our strength comes from our members and volunteers.
2. Consider becoming a Friend of the Women's Centre by making monthly donations.
3. Go through your closet and bring us any gently-used clothing you are not wearing--we operate a free clothing exchange.
4. Make a donation of soap, shampoo samples, feminine hygeine products, warm blankets or bus tickets. We also accept non-perishable food items. (Juice boxes are just great!)
5. Call or write to your MLA and MP and stress that the Nanaimo Women's Centre is an important part of this community. Tell your MLA you would like to see Provincial funding restored to B.C. Women's Centres.

We appreciate your help and support! Call us at 753-0633 or drop by the Centre at 10A Victoria Crescent in downtown Nanaimo (at the top of the China Steps). We are open from 10am to 3pm, Tuesday through Thursday.

Many Thanks!

This just in! Stay tuned for more information!

On December 6, 1989, 14 women were gunned down at L’Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal. On Tuesday December 6, please join the Nanaimo Women’s Centre and the Rights and Democracy Club at Malaspina University-College as we commemorate this tragic event, by celebrating the lives and accomplishments of women.

Our event, Remembrance and Renewal, will be held at Malaspina University-College on the evening of December 6 (time TBA). We will have a social in the lounge with wine and beer tasting, food (sushi from Acme, etc.), and art show and silent auction and a women's band from Victoria. Tickets will cost $10 ($8 for low-income) and will include admission plus one drink and one plate of food.

More information to come—please stay tuned!

The Nanaimo Women’s Centre thanks the Rights and Democracy Club for their hard work, and for their understanding of the importance of the December 6 anniversary.

For anyone who is interested in why we post under the name Rosie, here is some background. This release is from May, 2005, during the run-up to the B.C. provincial election. Resist, Revolt, Rebel, RENEW!

Thanks,
Nanaimo Women's Centre Rosies

We Can Do It!
Rosie the Riveters Respond to Women’s Centre Cuts

NANAIMO—Members and supporters of the Nanaimo Women’s Resources Society hosted a Rosie the Riveter dress-up demonstration before the All-Candidates’ Forum on Tuesday May 3.
In April, 2004, the Provincial Liberals clawed back $47,000 in core funding from each of B.C.’s Women’s Centres. Faced with a funding crisis, the Nanaimo Women’s Centre may soon be forced to close its doors.
“We have lost the voice of women’s advocacy at the provincial level with the elimination of the Ministry of Women’s Equality, and at the local level with these cuts,” says Jeannie Martin, president of the Nanaimo Women’s Resources Society Board of Directors. “Women’s Centres have been cut off at the knees. This demonstration is a way to raise community awareness, and to remind our provincial election candidates that this is an issue the government must take seriously.”
Rosies met outside the Port Theatre at 5:45, and demonstrated until the All-Candidates’ Forum began at 6:30 pm.
Rosie the Riveter became an icon during the Second World War, when American women took over the factories while men were at the front. Her first mention was in a song written by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb in 1942. Since the Campbell Liberals took power, Rosie’s confident expression and raised fist has caught on as an image of strength in the face of deep cuts to social programs.
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To make a donation to the Nanaimo Women’s Centre or to volunteer, please call 753-0633, 10am to 3pm Tuesday-Thursday. Thank you!!!

With the civic election approaching (November 19) we at the Nanaimo Women's Centre have put together a list of questions we would like candidates to think about. If you are an election candidate, or if you are a resident planning on attending this week's candidates forum, please keep the following questions in mind. We need representatives who understand the importance of a women's centre in our community! Many thanks.

Don't forget to vote on November 19--women didn't win the vote easily, after all. We have the power to effect change in our community, so let's get out there and use it!

Questions for election candidates

What sort of work does the Nanaimo Women's Centre do?

How many women in Nanaimo and the Regional District use the Women’s Centre?

Why do women need a safe space to come for help?

Why do you feel a Women’s Centre is necessary in our community—or why not?

In terms of political, economic and social equality, what barriers do you see women facing that are not barriers for men?

As a Nanaimo city councillor, what will you do to encourage provincial and federal representatives to re-instate funding for Women’s Centres?

Welcome to the brand-new Nanaimo Women's Centre blog!

The Nanaimo Women’s Resources Society has a 25-year history of providing services to women in our community. Since we became a registered non-profit society in 1981, our staff and volunteers have always been available to help women in crisis. The Women’s Centre is located centrally in the downtown south side of Nanaimo, and we assist 300 to 400 clients per month, during the 60 hours we can afford to have our doors open. (Just 15 hours per week.)

We have lost our core funding, and with it our Executive Director. We’ve been forced to downsize our Centre, and we are struggling to make the rent so that we can continue to operate.
Government cuts to women’s programs in British Columbia have inordinately affected Aboriginal women, women of colour, immigrants, refugees, single mothers, women with disabilities, the poor and the elderly (Losing Ground: The Effects of Government Cutbacks on Women in British Columbia, 2001-2005). The effects on women in Nanaimo have been devastating, and demand for the referral, resource, counseling and legal services offered through the Nanaimo Women’s Centre continues to increase.

Nanaimo has one of the highest rates of single-women parenthood and child poverty in British Columbia. The rates of teen pregnancy, spousal assault, and illicit drug use and death are higher in Nanaimo than the B.C. average. Nanaimo female single-parent families earn $4500 less per year than the B.C. average. Compared with other communities in B.C., Nanaimo has the second highest rate of dependent elderly women. Between 1997 and 2002, the Nanaimo area saw a 130 per cent increase in family violence and more recently, a sharp decline in accessible legal services.

At our drop-in centre, women can access counseling, free legal clinics and workshops, free phone, computer, photocopier and fax services, support groups (such as our 16 Steps Recovery/Discovery for substance addiction issues and 16 Steps to Empowerment for eating disorders issues), referrals, a free clothing exchange, parenting support, emergency supplies such as soap, diapers and bus tickets and more.

Our goal is to keep our drop-in open as a first-line-of-action resource for women in our community. We are also seeking project funding so that we can begin to operate a much-needed Women’s Legal Services Program. This would provide women with practical legal assistance including peer counseling, legal education workshops and group sessions, individual assistance with court documentation and other educational workshops.

Civic elections are coming up on November 19. We wish all candidates luck, and we ask you all to remember that the Nanaimo Women's Centre needs your support!