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Current COVID Feeling
We are still very much in the middle of this COVID journey and for many it has been tiring. We have all been experiencing many different thoughts, feelings, and opinions throughout the past four months. This pandemic has been easier to navigate for some than others. We continue to receive conflicting messages of what is safe and what is not. It can be overwhelming to say the least. Whatever you are feeling at this time please honour and be okay with those feelings; anger, gratitude, anxiety, happiness, frustration, and more. Please be kind to one another, support one another, and respect the choices each of us make while navigating this strange time. We are in this together and we can support one another as friends, family, neighbours, and a community. Most of all, be kind and gentle with yourself.

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2020-2021 Board Of Directors
At SSWC's Annual General Meeting, the following Board Directors were elected: Charlene Flint; Chair, Christine Scott; Vice-Chair, Janice Bower; Finance Officer, Ruth Wilkins; Recording Officer, Jackie MacDonald, Andrea Hancock, Linda Wentzel, Becky Nodding, Helah Cooper, Susan MacCallum-Whitcomb, and Colleen O’Neill. The Board of Directors looks forward to working with staff and volunteers in the upcoming fiscal year and supporting the organization in their governance. If you would like to contact any member, please send an email to Exec@SecondStory.ca

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We recently said good-bye to our Program Support Coordinator, Aliyyah Fazil, who has moved to Toronto with her partner where they will be closer to family when their new baby arrives. We are over the moon with excitement for Aliyyah and Bill as they become parents. Aliyyah has been a huge asset to our organization supporting a number of activities including program development, grant writing, front desk, youth programming, and the list goes on. A few words our team would use to describe her are; amazing, adaptable, gentle, strong, kind, and an advocate. We are lucky to have a strong team at Second Story Women's Centre and Aliyyah was a big part of it, she will be greatly missed.

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A wonderful thank you to all of our volunteers at Second Story Women's Centre. Individuals who volunteer with our organization range from youth to over 90 years old. There are many roles volunteers play in the centres success including program facilitation, watering plants, board membership, front desk support, cooking/baking, event support, supportive listening, and the list goes on and on. (The garden pictured above was recently planted by a couple of our volunteers.) Our organization would not be able to achieve half of what we do each year if it weren't for our amazing group of dedicated volunteers.

Thank you so very much for sharing your valuable time, unique skills, kindness, and dedication, we are forever grateful!

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We are doing a bit of a summer shake up! In response to the changes and struggles our communities have been facing these past few months, we have decided that a Wellness for Girls Camp and a Wellness for Boys Camp is a great way to support our youth. We are planning the format to take place online to allow for flexibility and necessary social distancing expectations. These camps will be light, fun, and packed with wellness ideas. 

Jennifer O'Keefe is working on a research project called - Changing Public Engagement From The Ground Up.  She came to Second Story Women's Centre to interview Liz and Rhonda.  Her interview explores at the challenges women face in rural communities. 
Click HERE to read the interview transcript. 
For more information you can go to their website, www.changingpublicengagement.com

  All of us at Second Story Women’s Centre (SSWC) are devastated by the horrific events in Nova Scotia on April 18/19 that left 22 innocent people dead.  Our hearts go out to all of those affected and struggling to cope.  We are angered by the continued increase in domestic and intimate partner violence we have seen since the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus and the ensuing isolation.  Our vision of ‘gender equity and safe healthy relationships on the South Shore’, has once again been tested by these tragedies.  The problem however as we all know, is bigger than these isolated incidents, and in their wake we are left questioning:  where are we failing as a community and a society? 
 
We know that our communities and the individuals within them need more support.  For over 35 years in Lunenburg and Queens Counties, SSWC has been supporting women, girls and gender-oppressed people as they navigate challenges in their lives.  We offer trauma-informed support in safer spaces.  Our work and recent events continue to highlight the need for interventions and support to begin earlier.  We believe happy, supported, and mentally healthy children have better opportunities for resilience and to grow into kind, caring, contributing members of society. 
 
We are concerned that our youth are being raised in a society that regularly dismisses violence, narcissism, sexism, racism, and stereotypical attitudes toward gender.  These views may affect how we behave as individuals or groups of people and ultimately what we come to expect from ourselves and others.  The murderous incidents that have taken place in our province over the last several weeks (1 domestic homicide in HRM and 22 in Colchester County) demonstrate once again what can happen when gendered violence goes unchecked and when we succumb to stereotypical notions of gender that society continues to teach and model. 
 
What are we at Second Story Women’s Centre doing to combat these issues?  We provide programming and support for youth.  Our Girl Talk, Express Yourself and Girls’ Loft programs counter stereotypical narratives of what it means to identity as female.  We support and administer the Healthy Relationships for Youth program in South Shore high schools.  This peer-led, violence prevention program addresses underlying issues of sexism, racism, stereotypes, homophobia, power and violence.  Just as social distancing measures of COVID-19 were implemented, we were on the cusp of implementing our first ever boys-only program.  The goal of this camp was to counter narratives of what it means to identify as male, break down negative and harmful gender stereotypes, emphasize self-appreciation and healthy emotional expression, and encourage mental health support: it’s ok to ask for help when we are struggling.
 
A hope for our community is that we: 

• Continue to speak to, love and support our children and keep our minds open to them whenever they need to talk. 
• Continue to speak out against any and ALL forms of violence you see happening. 
• Continue to have conversations about gendered stereotypes when they show up (on tv, jokes, video games, advertising, etc.). 
• Advocate for the necessary supports in our community. 
• Offer random acts of kindness. 
• Communicate and engage in open and respectful dialogue. 
• Consider how what we say and do affects the lives of others.

 
We are living in unprecedented times and have been given an opportunity to pause, step back and take a look at what influences our beliefs and actions.  As a community we can change direction for the better.

Please feel free to reach out to us at Second Story Women’s Centre.  Please check out our website for more information and to sign up for our newsletter.  We are here for you and we continue to offer support virtually during this time that our office is closed to visitors.
 
Please contact us at: 
E – info@SecondStory.ca     P – 902-640-3044     FB - @secstory