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This Mother's Day, consider making a donation to Second Story Women's Centre in your Mother's name. For example, a donation of $50 to SSWC pays for one counselling session for a woman / gender-oppressed person on the South Shore. If you would like to donate less than $50, that's cool too - others will do the same and every bit helps! We'd like to raise enough money to pay for 20 counselling sessions for women and gender-oppressed people by Mother's Day, May 9. Go to secondstory.ca/mom to donate and download a printable card to send or email your mother to let her know that someone will be receiving a counselling session from SSWC in her name!   We are so grateful for the continued support from the Lunenburg School of the Arts. This is such an amazing fundraiser and while this year will certainly look a little bit different as it is happening online, you are still able to get a uniquely crafted bowl and support the Centre!
It's happening June 7-10. Check out lunenburgarts.org/news-events/ramp-it-up-sale-gallery for purchase details and to see a gallery of the bowls that will be up for sale!  We were thrilled to nominate Linda Wentzell, one of our many wonderful volunteers to receive recognition from the Town of Lunenburg during National Volunteer Week! We want to say a big thank you to everyone who supports Second Story by volunteering their time and expertise. It takes a village!
Second Story Women's Centre staff are working from home as of April 26, 2021 until further notice due to the current spike in Covid cases. Previously scheduled one-on-one counselling appointments will be held over the phone or Zoom. The weekly Stepping Out walking group will not be held while staff work from home. Staff have access to email and their voicemail during this time, but if you have any questions or are having difficulty reaching a staff member, please let us know at info@secondstory.ca.
SSWC staff hope to be back in the Centre as soon as possible. Stay safe everyone! We have come to the end of our six-month series of weekly raffle draws! We want to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported us by buying tickets and to those who donated prizes, including:
Second Story Women's Centre believes survivors and is a safe space for women and gender-oppressed people who have experienced sexual assault. We want survivors to know: what happened to you was not your fault and we stand with you. The goal of Sexual Assault Awareness month is to create awareness around the prevalence of sexual assault and what we can do to end it. Throughout the month of April, we will be sharing resources and statistics here on our blog and on our social media accounts, as well as attempting to give survivors their voices back where we can, in order to allow their experiences to be heard and better understood. A great resource is the We Believe You: A Colouring Book for Survivors and Supporters from BreaktheSilence NS. There is also a colouring book for Mi'kmaq SA Survivors and their supporters called 'Healing with the Seven Sacred Teachings.' Download and print them at the links, or come into the Centre and grab a free printed copy for yourself or the Sexual Assault Survivor in your life. We would LOVE to see some of your finished colouring masterpieces, please feel free to bring them into the Centre in April to be added to our display at the Centre!  While you're here, be sure to grab a free Sexual Assault Awareness Month pin to show your support for survivors! Thanks to the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women for providing them.  Did you know that 2021 is the 20th anniversary of Sexual Assault Awareness month? For a quick look back at the history of #SAAM, click here!
The Halifax YWCA has established an interest-free loan program for female-identifying people who are leaving or have recently left domestic violence situations in Nova Scotia. Up to $500 is available per successful applicant, and the YWCA will work with the individual to come up with a flexible and affordable repayment schedule.  The funds can be used for housing-related costs like damage deposits, rent or utility payments/arrears, moving or storage costs and phone or internet bills. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older, have a source of income (income assistance or other benefits are accepted) and a bank account (or be willing to open one), and if they live outside the HRM, a letter of referral from a local support organization (such as Second Story Women's Centre).
For more information about the December 6th Fund, or to begin the application process, please contact the Second Story Women's Centre at info@secondstory.ca or call 902-640-3044. Second Story Women's Centre is one of 19 organizations that have received funding from the CUA Community Investment Grant Program!  SSWC is pleased to announce that we will be receiving $1500 in funding that will support the purchase of shelving to make accessing our free menstrual products and basic toiletries an easier and more welcoming experience. This will also give SSWC more storage space for our donated toiletry and menstrual supplies, which will allow us to accept and store larger quantities of donations. We're excited to revamp this system, so watch this space for pictures of our new and improved set-up when everything is in place!
In the meantime, check out the list of menstrual products and toiletries that we are looking for donations of! And a big thank you to South Shore Sexual Health for their recent donation of re-usable pads and menstrual cups, which gives us some environmentally friendlier options to offer.  Due to the pandemic, we won’t be able to physically gather to celebrate International Women's Day this year, but we can still connect virtually! The theme for IWD2021 is #ChooseToChallenge and the idea is to pick something to challenge in our daily lives going forward that will help advance the fight for equality for women and gender-oppressed people. You can #ChooseToChallenge anything, but some examples are: “I will celebrate women’s achievements” “I will forge a gender equal world” “I will maintain a gender equal mindset” "I will call out misogyny wherever I encounter it" "I will listen to and believe women" "I will hold myself and my peers accountable for our words and behaviour towards women" Show Us We want to see what you’re choosing to challenge for #IWD2021! Here’s how to show us: Download and print SSWC's #ChooseToChallenge sheet, or take a blank piece of paper and write down how or what you will do to #ChooseToChallenge gender inequality in 2021 and beyond. Then take a picture of yourself holding your sign with your hand up, and post it to your social media. Be sure to tag us or send it to us at info@secondstory.ca so we can see you and share your #ChooseToChallenge with everyone! Do We Still Need International Women's Day? While you're thinking about what you will #ChooseToChallenge for #IWD2021, take a look at this article from our friends at Women's Centres Connect, with some eye opening stats about why we still need International Women's Day. Have a look at some of the amazing #ChooseToChallenge pictures that have been sent in |
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