A Foothills organization helping women in abusive situations is educating students about treating others with respect and kindness.
“The dollars we receive from Western Wheel Cares will go towards our preventative education program,” said Ally Cramm, Rowan House Society, community relations co-ordinator. “That is vital to raising awareness about healthy relationships and breaking the cycle of violence in Okotoks and the rest of the communities we serve.”
In the past eight years, Western Wheel Cares has raised more than $390,000 for participating charities.This year’s charities are the Okotoks Food Bank, Pound Rescue, Rowan House Society, the Magic of Christmas, the Sheep River Health Trust, Foothills Country Hospice, and, new this year, the Foothills Advocacy in Motion.
The education component earmarked by Rowan House for its share of funds from Western Wheel Cares is for students in Grades 2, 5, 8 and 11.
“In the early grades we talk about friendship, bullying and kindness,” Cramm said. “Then as we get into the older grades that’s when we start talking about dating violence, relationship red flags and things like that.”
The prevention program has been in place since 2009.
“It continues to grow,” Cramm said. “We are in nearly every single school in Okotoks."
Rowan House does an evaluation with the students at the end of each cycle of presentations.
“We ask them what changes have been made in their life currently,” Cramm said. “All of the feedback has been positive.
“They talk about receiving the tools to prevent bullying in the classroom to creating personal boundaries in their own lives (for the older students).”
Jodean Harrison, a Grade 2 teacher at Big Rock School, said the program is effective in stressing respect among the young students.
“The different lessons are based on treating people with respect, being kind, what is a bully, how unkind words and actions can have an effect on people that can last forever,” Harrison said. “I know the hope is that if they are helping kids to learn this kindness and respect actions now, perhaps down the road it will lead to people not having to use their (Rowan House’s) services in the future.”
She said the students enjoy the activities and the program is relevant to their lives, with activities such as how to give a compliment to someone else.
Another activity has the students taking a beautiful paper heart, and crunching it, throwing it, insulting it and beating on it.
“Then they unwrap the heart and smooth it out and try to say kind things to the heart, but those crinkles never go away,” Harrison said . “They see that actions have lasting effects.”
The goal is to stop domestic abuse in the future, which sadly is still in the Foothills today.
Rowan House received 1,596 crisis calls in the past year, according to statistics from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020.
There were 188 families that stayed in the Rowan House Emergency Shelter last year to escape the abusive situation at their homes.
“We had 188 women stay here, but also in that same period we turned away 629 women and children,” said Angela Angela Koenig, Rowan House preventative education facilitator. during the society’s virtual Breafast With the Guys on Nov. 6.
“The main reason they were turned away is the fact that we didn’t have space in the shelter.”
Koenig presented statistics that 58 per cent of women in Alberta have experienced physical or sexual abuse since the age of 15.
Anyone needing assistance from Rowan House Society can call its 24 HR Crisis Line: 403-652-3311 (text enabled) or toll free: 1-855-652-3311.
To donate to Western Wheel Cares: mail cheques to Box 150, Okotoks Ab. T1S 2A2 or visit OkotoksToday.ca for a Paypal donation link.
As well, you can drop by to the Wheel office at 9 McRae St., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch.)
