Education Wife Assault
ANNUAL REPORT
2003
Education
Wife Assault
20023 - /20043
Education Wife Assault
The Robertson Building
Suite 220, 215 Spadina Avenue
Toronto, Ontario M5T 2C7
Phone
(416) 968-3422
TTY (416) 968-7335
FAX (416) 968-2026
Email:
info@womanabuseprevention.com
Website:
www.womanabuseprevention.com
|
|
SUPPORT SERVICES FOR ASSAULTED
WOMEN INC. / EDUCATION WIFE ASSAULT / SUPPORT SERVICES FOR
ASSAULTED WOMEN INC.
2003 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Thursday Friday, October 223, 2004
3 6:030 – 6:507:00 p.m.
A G E N D A
1.
Welcome and Introduction: Mariela MoralesTeboho Mpela,
Board PresidentChairperson
Marsha Sfeir, Executive Director
MOTION: To adopt Minutes from October 23December 5, 20032.
4.
Report from the Board of Directors: – Teboho MpelaMariela Morales
5.
Executive Director’s D Rreport and Staff
Introductions: – Marsha Sfeir
6.
Recognition of Funders and Volunteers: – Marsha
Sfeir
Yukyung Kim-Cho, Volunteer Program Coordinator
Coordinator
7. Financial
Report and Presentation of Auditor’s Report: , Anni LinLois Fine,
Treasurer
MOTION: To approve Financial Statements for the
year ending March 31, 20043.
8.
Appointment of Auditor for 20043/20054
MOTION: To appoint Dawn Flett & Associates, Chartered Accountant ??? Patricia
Morrison as Auditor for 20043/20054.
9.
Election of Board of Directors and
Executive Officers
MOTION: That the slate of EWA
Board of Directors and Executive Officers for 20043/20054 be accepted.
10. Adjournment
MOTION: To adjourn the Annual General Meeting.
Current and Continuing Board of Directors
Directors standing
for Re-election Standing for Election
Lois Fine
Teboho Mpela
Marilda Tselepis
Emily Chan Anita Dhawan
Anita Dhawan
Rifka Khalilieh
Vincenza
(Enza) Ronaldi
Christa Thomas
Ellen Nichols
Vincenza
(Enza) Ronaldi
Christa Thomas
Marilda Tselepis
Carol Zavits
Standing for
Election
Ellen Nichols
Carol Zavits
President’s
Report
By Teboho MpelaTeboho Mpela
As you will see from the
content of the Staff Reports this has been another extremely busy and
productive year at EWA. We have had a number of major changes including the
move from our long-time residence at Trinity St. Paul’s Church to the Robertson
Building at 215 Spadina Avenue. The new space is wonderful and much healthier
for staff and volunteers. The Board is thrilled to announce that Marsha Sfeir
has become our new Executive Director after 15 years of service as Training
Coordinator and Financial Manager to the agency. Marsha will be undertaking a
re-structuring of the agency to ensure we are working within our means and continuing
to be responsive to the needs of our community.
The Board would like to
express our appreciation to all the staff for their patience with the
organizational restructuring and with their ability to maintain program and
production levels while making the move. This year our Trillium funding ends
and we have been actively seeking new partnerships and funding sources.
A strong staff group has
enabled us to provide high level training and information services to our
communities across the province, nationally and internationally. We wish to
tank each and every one of them for their dedication and commitment to the
agency and to the prevention of violence against women.
Executive Director’s Report
By Marsha Sfeir
“Don’t walk behind me; I
may not lead. Don’t walk in front of
me; I may not follow. Walk beside me
that we may be as one.” This Native
American Proverb accurately points to the reason Education Wife Assault has
successfully provided thousands of women, men, and children with high quality
violence prevention programs for many years and why I agreed to accept the
Executive Director’s position. This is an agency where the Board, staff,
volunteers and supportive friends work hand in hand in the struggle to end
violence against women and children. We have a small but far-reaching team of
women with vision, passion, and commitment
This year we are
commemorating our 25th year
serving the community, in all its diversity, with training programs, print and
web based information and referral and research services. Our permanent
programs have expanded thanks to the leadership provided by program staff and
the support of many talented volunteers under the direction of our new
volunteer coordinator Yukyung Kim-Cho. In response to the changing
needs of the communities we serve EWA, in 2003, has expanded into two new areas
- our Young Women’s Program and our work on Abuse of Older Women.
Our programs, the way we do
our education work, and the structure of EWA will continue to change and evolve
in the next year as we look forward to strategic planning, a name change and
new image, and a partnership with York University, Division of Continuing
Education to design and deliver Technology Enhance Education on woman abuse.
The challenges are many as we complete four years of Trillium funding and deal
with increasing demands for services and programs with limited core
funding. I am grateful to all the staff
who have continued to work under the pressure of organizational change, moving
and increasing demands on their time and resources. It has also been a
privilege to work with a full board complement
of a diverse group of
committed, creative and supportive board members.
Message from the Executive
Director and the Chair of the Board
This past year marked a time
of change, adjustment and preparation for more change as EWA celebrates 25
years of accomplishments in the struggle to end violence against women and
children. It has been both a difficult
and exciting time for the Board and staff at EWA. Difficult because, in spite of endless hours by many new
volunteers, we did not succeed in our efforts to identify new sources of
funding for our programs. In addition after a four year partnership with the
National Clearing House on Family Violence and the BC Institute Against Family
Violence our joint work with the Violence Prevention Affiliate of the Canadian
Health Network came to an end. Due to the lost funding we had to say goodbye to
Jila Khodrang our information science specialist.
However,
despite these setbacks, our hardworking and committed staff and agency
volunteers with the support of a dedicated and enthusiastic board continue to
deliver innovative and much needed programs to all sectors across the Province
of Ontario. We are proud of EWA’s many recent
accomplishments described in the staff reports. A few of the highlights include:
Ř The implementation of the Young Women’s Program
committed to working with ‘youth on the margin’ through the Young Accents
Against Woman Abuse Project
Ř The partnership with Family Services Association
and the overwhelming success of our joint Older Women Abuse Project
including the “Weaving the Web” conference and publication of a newsletter on the abuse of older
women
Ř Through EWA’s Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Program
an increased number of new and established communities increased their capacity
to design and deliver violence prevention programming
Ř
The Women with Disabilities
and Deaf Women’s Program continued and expanded the award winning work of the Access
and Education Project and with funding from the Ontario Women’s Directorate
began a project called Accessing the System: Building Supports for Women
with Disabilities and Deaf Women
Ř
Secured funding from the
Trillium Foundation for year one of a four year initiative entitled Preventing
and Responding to Violence Against Women Through Technology Enhanced Education in
partnership with York University Division of Continuing Education, Atkinson
Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies
In addition
we celebrate our 1st year in fully accessible space which allows
all of our programs and staff to learn from
and support each other.
Organizationally
the Board, with the staff and in consultation with community partners, funders
and individual donors, began a three year strategic planning and re-branding
process. The strategic framework, new
name and logo will be made public in
the late fall of 2004. As Education
Wife Assault completes it’s 25th anniversary year we hope you will
“walk along side” us as we continue the struggle for equality and peace in our
homes and in our world.
Marsha
Sfeir, Mariela
Morales,
Executive
Director Chair, Board of Directors
Staff
Reports
Ethics
and Values
Introduction
Education
Wife Assault’s mission is to inform and educate the community about the issue
of wife assault/woman abuse in order to decrease the incidence of physical,
psychological, emotional and sexual violence against women and the effect that
woman abuse has on children. EWA is committed to
maintaining a comprehensive information and training centre, to increasing our
technological capacities and to providing value-added research, consultative
and referral services. We
distribute print materials (over 90 titles, a few in as many as 2219 languages
and in plain language) and provide program consultation to every Province and
Territory in Canada. Education Wife
Assault is considered the backbone of education and information for
anti-violence prevention work in Ontario.
For 25 years
EWA has worked with diverse communities to design and deliver educational/
training programs, and to develop materials in multiple languages and in
alternate formats. In recent years we
have formed/continued partnerships and collaborative relationships with over
100 agencies and institutions. Over
16,000 individuals and groups rely directly on our services per year. In addition, in 2003 EWA’s website will have
approximately 450,000 visitor sessions.
In our
experience, the most effective violence prevention and education programs
result, among other factors, from cross-sectoral partnerships. EWA’s work with women with disabilities,
Deaf women, and immigrant women who do not speak/read English or French has
taught us the importance of making information about woman abuse and women’s
rights available in plain language and in accessible formats. We also know that when this often life
saving material is not accessible, women’s continued vulnerability to violence
increases and their ability to access services, including literacy programs,
decreases.
In addition
to our prevention programming we respond to the needs of women in crisis and
members of their families by providing educational materials/resources and
referrals free of charge. Through our consultation service we support other
groups and organizations to provide service in their own cultural and social
contexts on issues related to woman abuse.
EWA’s violence prevention work is local, national
and international. We respond to the needs of diverse communities. For example,
in Toronto our community includes the following diversity:
EWA's
violence prevention work is local, national and international. When doing this
work we take into account the diversity of the communities we work with. Over the last 7 years we have
initiated programs and services that respond to the following demographic
realities:
Men and women, although women
are the majority of our clients
1.3 million women live in
Toronto, half of them are women of color (Orenstein Report, 2001)
Canada has an aging population
18.9% people in the province
of Ontario have a disability (Statistics Canada, 1996)
10% of people in Ontario
identify as lesbian, gay and bisexual,
47% of Toronto's residents
representing 89 ethno-racial communities are newcomers (Orenstein Report, 2001)
There are more immigrant youth
and youth of colour living in Toronto than Canadian-born youth or youth who
identify as European
There are 145, 000 people
in Toronto who do not speak English
Men and women, although
women are the majority of our clients
18.9% of people in Ontario
have a disability (Statistics Canada, 1996)
32% of people in
Metropolitan Toronto are people of colour (ibid.)
27.3% of people in
Metropolitan Toronto have a first language other than English (ibid.)
Toronto is home to
1,125,000 immigrants representing 47% of the city’s population and one in four
immigrants living in Canada, Profile Toronto: Immigrants in Toronto, City of
Toronto, Urban Planning and Development Services, June 1999
People of all ages, with
68% of Toronto residents being between ages 15 and 64
10% of the community are
gay, lesbian or bisexual
Female led single-parent
families are among the poorest people in Toronto. In July 1999, single parent families accounted for nearly 40% of
the city’s social assistance caseload, United Way, Toronto at a Turning Point
Report
The
following is a summary of the programs areas and
highlights ofor the year
2002/2003.
Information Services
Resource
Centre
The EWA Resource EWA houses a reference collection
of over 5,000 resources on woman abuse, many of which are not available through
other libraries. We have program
reports, statistics, original research, video and audio-tapes, community-based
resources, books and academic resources.
Most of our materials are in English but we also have other languages
and alternative formats. The collection
is catalogued and classified in a system which responds uniquely to the subject
area of violence prevention and we have a searchable database on our network.
During the past year we provided resources to many
groups including community organizations, social services, students,
researchers, women in crisis, teachers, etc.
Through our evaluation forms we learned that our users found the
resource centre very important in their own program planning or research.
EWA Website
The EWA Website
(http://www.womanabuseprevention.com/ )
continuously showed a high traffic as one of the most popular site with woman
abuse related resources. We often received encouraging feedback from visitors
that reflect the powerful educational function of the site. During the last year we had about 420,000
visits, 1,100 visits per weekday and 650,000 hits for entire site per month.
The most popular pages on the site are::
Emotional abuseT
Emotional abuse
Emotional
Abuse
Same-sex partner abuse
Abuse Signs
We have updated and extended
the site with address changes of the linked sites and the following new
resources:
Winter 2002/2003 EWA Publications List
Tell us about your
story of Economic Abuse in an
intimate relationship
Questions and
Answers for immigrant and refugee(pdf/text format)
How you can help -
Information for Counsellors-Advocates(pdf/text format)
How you can help -
Information for Lawyers(pdf/text format)
Directory of
Services for Women with Disabilities
and Deaf Women (in 7
cities in Ontario)
Violence
Prevention Resource Guide: Resources on
the Health Effects of Violence and Sexual Assault (html/pdfCHN
stuff – Yukyung to fill format)
Materials
and Resource Development
EWA has developed/revised /distributed the
following useful materials in 20032/20043:
Newsletter (Fall): Special 25th Anniversary Issue – Volume 13 Issue 2 – the web
version is also available on our website.
Newsletter (Spring Winter 2002/2003): Children
Exposed To Woman Abuse – Volume 13 Issue 11
Directory of Services for Abused Women with
Disabilities and Deaf Women (for 12 cities in Ontario)I Witness: Children Exposed to
Domestic Violence (2003)
Post Card on Family Law Reform in 8 languages
(English, Korean, Chinese, Tagalog, Bengali, Russian, Arabic and Spanish)Facing Diversity: Responding
to Violence Against Women from Diverse
Cultures (2000)
Helping Brochure: “Did your husband or boyfriend
hurt you? – Did you leave him?” (Child Custody and Access: Questions and
Answers, Korean)Understanding
Woman Abuse: Social and Political Challenges (2003)
Embodying
Equity (2002)
Helping Brochure: “My husband is hurting me … I
want him to stop” (Japanese)Challenging Landscape: Training Manual for Service
Providers (2001)
Information Sheet: “How to Help an Assaulted Woman”Creating Safer Schools for
Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Youth: A Resource for Educators (2002 Revised
Edition)
Information Sheet: “How to Help Children Exposed to
Woman Abuse”
Anthology of
Women’s Writing, Art and Poetry: A Collection of Deaf Women’s Stories: Tales of Survival (2002)
The “Dating Violence Prevention Kit” (2003)
“Dating: How
to Stay Safe and Have Fun” (2002)
In the
Centre of the Storm Durham Speaks Out (2000)
Overcoming the Backlash: Telling: Telling the Truth
About Power, Privilege, and Oppression
Resources on Elder Woman Abuse are available at www.womanabuseprevention.com
Publications/Resource
Distribution
During the past year Education
Wife Assault distributed 410,000 32,393 (the inventory says 12,354) resources to
3,500 2,172 (inventory:
164) clients across Canada and around the world. In addition, we donated 60,000
publications to community organizations during the summer 2003. Our clients
include woman abuse survivors and their families, service providers,
researchers, shelters and the general public.
A proportion of these publications were crisis resource kits for women
in crisis and their friends. Despite rising costs we continue to make resources
available on a sliding scale and when necessary, for free. We also distribute
resources on behalf of other organizations who do not have or want to extend
access to distribution networks. Together, we have over 11290 titles of
publications available to distribute. To obtain a copy of our updated
Publications List see our website at http://www.womanabuseprevention.com/html/publications.html
htm1
Canadian Health Network
Until March 31, 2004 Education
Wife Assault continueds to be an
active part of the Canadian Health Network (CHN). CHN is a national, bilingual Website funded by Health Canada to
provide consumers with health information from Canadian non-profit
organizations. The website is www.canadian-health-network.ca. Education Wife
Assault iswas working with the British
Columbia Institute Against Family Violence and the National Clearinghouse on
Family Violence to provide violence prevention leadership and content expertise
to the Canadian Health Network. This includeds building a
national network of non-profit organizations who are working on violence
prevention issues, developing resources for the Website and building a online
database of hundreds of Canadian resources. Visit the Violence Prevention site
of the Canadian Health Network at http://www.canadian-health-network.ca/1violence.html
Training Program
§Women with disabilities
and Deaf women
§Immigrant and Refugee Women
Youth
Older Women
Health Care Providers
marginalisationmarginalizationmo
DefenceDefense” and a the Canadian
Council on Social Development on
.
.
and an
article on “Gendering Immigration and Settlement” for INSCAN.
are in
particular circumstances and the ()
The
program has completed a solid ground work; We developed aAhas been created . and The program withexpressingyoung women’s the of young women foronWe participated at an advisory level in the following :that this program
participated in at advisory level: Shelter for WomenisaimsA joint Youth Peer
Educator/Advocate Training with Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence
Against Women and Children (METRAC) is in process with total 27 participants
including two young men.
a and to work on issues related to
violence against young women with the project svefurther ed this yearremarkably, .,
Program Manager: Marsha Sfeir
Older Women Abuse Project
In response to
community-identified needs Education Wife Assault (EWA) and several of our community partners set up this (the newest program area at EWA) project to bring together the best approaches and
practices of both the Violence Against Women (VAW) and Seniors' sectors in
Ontario . Our community partners in the Older Women Abuse
Project are Family Service Association of Toronto (FSA), Circle of
Care (COC), the Ontario Network for the Prevention of
Elder Abuse (ONPEA) and the Toronto
Police Service(TPS). This program is designed to meet the needs of a
range of service providers including managers, counselors, shelter and crisis
workers, victim service workers, police, health care providers and advocates in
the health, social service, and justice sectors.
Through this project we offer:
§community capacity building through exploration of
effective ways to improve access to women's and seniors' services for
older women who have experienced violence at the hands of caregivers, intimate
partners, children and grandchildren (including modification of policies,
practices and procedures)
§an understanding of the implications for your
service of recent and pending legislation (mandated reporting, etc.) http://www.advocacycentreelderly.org/
§training on how to work with older women who have
been abused including case-based training opportunities with our
training/consultation team
follow-up support in making change in your
group/organization
networking/partnership
opportunities with others doing innovative work in the area working to improve
access for all women
a tailor-made training/consultation geared to your
group/organization's needs.
One of the project highlights of the past year was The Weaving the Web Conference held in January 2003. The Weaving the Web Conference was conceived in
partnership by FSA and EWA to bring together Violence Against Women (VAW)) and
Senior's sector personnel to address the gaps in service to older women in
Toronto who are abused. The conference was the launch to a two-year initiative funded by the Breaking the Cycle of Violence Grants
program of City of Toronto to build the capacity of both sectors and local
communities in Toronto to address abuse of older women in a way that is
respectful of both sectors and one that recognizes the strengths and needs of
both. Originally planned as a forum for about 80 to 100 participants, as soon
as the outreach began it became clear that we had “hit a nerve” with the
community. The conference was attended by over 180 participants and an
additional 80 were placed on a wait list because the limits of space and
resources did not allow for their inclusion at this time. Conference
report , articles and other resources available at: www.womanabuseprevention.com.
Program Manager: Joanne Bacon
far extentreach a common goalthat singWomen with Disabilities and
Deaf Women’s Program
As Education Wife Assault has
continued to increase our efforts to provide equitable and accessible service
to women with disabilities and Deaf women in the past year, some highlights
include:
The Access and Education Project continued
the work of the Award Winning (2002 Mayor’ s Community Safety Award) program to
provide 16 training sessions and 32 consultations with agencies seeking to
improve their accessibility to women with disabilities and Deaf Women. This
program is funded by Untied Way of Greater Toronto and allows us to do creative
and innovative work in this area with our community partners. The Breaking the Cycle of Violence Grants
program at the City of Toronto allowed us to begin the process of developing a
peer to peer education program so that women with disabilities and Deaf women
can reach out to their marginalized sisters in the community to talk to them
about their rights, what abuse is and where to get help. This project laid the
groundwork for a project called Accessing
the System: Building Supports For Women with Disabilities and Deaf Women funded by
the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Women’s Directorate, this 2-year
initiative was initiated to expand on our education efforts in this area.
Through a partnership with Tobias House and the
Anne Johnston Health Station, EWA is working towards enhancing the emergency
response to women with mobility disabilities who are victims of violence. This
project is funded by the Breaking the Cycle of Violence Grants Program at the
City of Toronto.
Project staff presented at a number of conferences
on our Access and Education Program Model.
Advisory
Committee to the Access and Education Project YEAR III
2002/2003
Denise
Wright Redwood
Shelter
Mary
Pritchard Assaulted
Women’s Helpline
Vivien Green Woman
Abuse Council of Toronto
Carole Baker Breakthrough
Program
YWCA
Beverley
Pageau Connect
Counselling Program
Canadian
Hearing Society
Dorothy
Bakos Family
Service Association
Nancy Martin Anne
Johnston Health Station
Rekha John Sunnybrook
and Women’s College Health Sciences
SATC
Nancy Barry Centre
for Independent Living – Toronto
And
EWA
Hilde
Zitzelsberger Building
Bridges Program
Regional
Women’s Health Centre
Mary Lou
Fassel Barbra
Schlifer Commemorative Clinic
Amtul
Hussain Ethno-Racial
Coalition of People with Disabilities of Ontario and EWA
Jo-Anne
Bryan AWCCA
Program (GBC) and Women’s Habitat
Project
Staff: Fran Odette and Catherine MacKinnon
Program
Manager: Joanne Bacon
Immigrant
Women’s Program
The Immigrant Women’s Program
has continued to grow in the past year. To date we have:
Worked with 12 immigrant and refugee women to review
Bill -22 (the act to reform the Federal Divorce Act) and to educate members of
their community and policy makers about the needs of abused immigrant and
refugee women in family law reform.
Trained 12 Peer Educators to deliver community
based education to abused women, their supporters on immigration, family and
criminal law
Continued to participate in the Woman Abuse
Council’s Cultural Support Services and Cultural Issues Committee that will
develop best practices for working in a culturally diverse context.
Continued to provide workshops on woman abuse and
children’s exposure to violence to settlement organizations, faith communities,
family resource programs, public health, ESL classes, literacy organizations,
community based agenciesy and the
Ontario Early Years Centres.
Participated in Legal Aid Ontario’s Family Law
Committee
Provided training on Children Exposed to Violence
and Child Protection to the Ontario Early Years Initiative
Participated in the Steering Committee that
organized a national conference in May 2003 sponsored by the Canadian Social
Development Council to improve the responsiveness of criminal justice sector to
woman abuse in immigrant and racially marginalized visible
minority communities.
Developed a model for doing peer education on woman
abuse, children exposed to violence and legal rights that is being used by
agencies across the City of Toronto and presented this model at the Woman Abuse
Council’s
Participated in grassroots peer education
activities with immigrant and refugee women from 10 communities
Offered a Wendo Women’s Self Defense Course
Program Staff: Beryl Tsang
Program Manager: Marsha Sfeir
Health
Providers/Institutions Marsha
Since 1996, EWA has had, as a
primary goal for it’s training program, to increase the number of physicians
and other health care providers across Ontario who have in-depth understanding
of issues related to violence against women so that they can increase their
ability to identify cases of woman abuse and can more effectively respond to
disclosures.
This past year, with support from our project
partners (Woman Abuse Council of
Toronto and Ontario Hospital
Association)
in addition to individual
workshops in hospitals and community health clinics we have formed a
partnership with the Ontario Hospital Association and the Woman Abuse Council
of Toronto to:
establish a network to ensure a coordinated
response to woman abuse in the health care sector on a regional and provincial
level
promote consistency and accountability in the
health care sector vis-ŕ-vis woman abuse
strengthen and reinforce existing health care
linkages to other sectors
EWA
completed the draft train the trainer manual entitled: A Question
of Health: Responding to Woman
Abuse in Health Care. This
training program was successfully piloted throughout the Province of Ontario and is currently in the final stages of
editing and layout. The Goal and
Expected Outcomes of the project are:
Goal: To provide participants with skills and knowledge to
effectively deliver training to Health Care Providers on the issue of woman
abuse.
Increased
knowledge and understanding of woman abuse as a health issue
Increased
understanding of the role of the health care provider in responding to woman
abuse
Demonstrated
ability to deliver training in a health care setting
Identified
areas for further knowledge and skill development
A total of
96 people (96% women) participated in six two-day training sessions.
Advisory Committee Members for
"Educating and Training Health Care Providers in Ontario Hospitals About
Woman Abuse":
Elizabeth Carlton
Ontario Hospital Association
Irene Gabinet
St. Joseph's Women's Health Centre
Vivien Green
Woman Abuse Council of Toronto
Robin Mason
Centre for Research in Women's Health
Project Training Staff: Irene Gabinet, Donna Joyette , Melanie Oda and Marsha Sfeir
Support
Staff: Judith Alcalde (Woman Abuse
Council)
Project
Manager: Marsha Sfeir
Education
System
This year we were able to
continue our partnership with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and
Planned Parenthood of Toronto (PPT) (TEACH) in implementing our Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender Youth Programming in the schools and community. Jamie
Berrigan, once again, has done an exemplary job of coordinating the training
for “SPEAK OUT!” volunteers at the TDSB and supported the youth to deliver
workshops and training in and around Toronto.
In addition, we continue to
give workshops to students and teachers throughout the York Catholic and Public
Boards, the Toronto Board, and the Peel Board.
In June,
2003 we completed A partnership project with
Parkdale Collegiate Institute and Redwood
Women’s Shelter called "Teens
Against Violence". The work was so successful and exciting that
EWA will continue to work at Parkdale with young immigrant women through The Young Women’s Program.
Advisory
Committee for "Teens Against Violence" A partnership project with
Parkdale Collegiate Institute
Richard Osolen
Parkdale Collegiate - Teacher
Kathi Silke
Parkdale Collegiate - Guidance Counselor
Anne Marie Gardner
Executive Director, Redwood Women's
Shelter
In addition,
we continue to give workshops to students and teachers throughout the York
Catholic and Public Boards, the Toronto District School Board, and the Peel
Board.
Project
Staff: Yukyung Kim-Cho
Project
Manager: Marsha Sfeir
Volunteer Program
Volunteers
continued to be involved in every aspect of service delivery at EWA as
described in each of the program areas. During the past year, over 150 volunteers
contributed their time and energy to all levels of programming at EWA.
Information Services and Women with Disability and Deaf Women Program at EWA,
for example, were excellent models of a volunteer program in which an agency
and volunteers can support each other to far extent.
We also
appreciate the contribution of the student placements who so generously gave of
their time while attending school. We would especially like to mention the
contribution of students from the Assaulted Women and Children’s
Counsellor/Advocate Program at George Brown College. Our volunteer Board of
Directors has worked tirelessly to ensure the agency is functioning at a high
level of service.
Fundraising
Program
This was a difficult year of
successes for Education Wife Assault’s annual fundraising
campaigns. We had some
successes. Highlights include renewed
funding from the City of Toronto’s Community Social Grants Program for our
Immigrant & Refugee Women’s program, third year
funding from the City of Toronto’s Breaking the Cycle of Violence
Grants for the Abuse of Older Women’s
project and an Ontario Women’s
Directorate grant for our Women’s with
Disabilities and Deaf Wwomen’s Access
and Education Accessing the System project and continued support from the United Way of Greater Toronto. We also received, for the 1st time, printing support from the Ontario Federation of Labour and began discussions regarding future support or
partnerships with other unions. In addition
we increa as well as
new funding from the Ontario Women’s Directorate (OWD).
sed our donations from religious congregations. To date,
however, we have not succeeded in expanding contributions from
corporations and foundations nor in identifying a funder for core activities
not covered by the United Way. We look forward
to increased effort and more
success in these areas in 2004-05.
Fundraising
activities this year include direct mail to individuals, funding requests to
foundations and government funding sources, solicitations of in-kind, a
membership drive, a monthly giving program, and funding requests to religious
organizations across Ontario and Canada.
We also had a moving expense fundraising through a direct
mailing and a community newsletter during the summer 2003.
Plans in the
coming year include strengthening both our membership and direct mail program,
exploring opportunities with online fundraising, and diversifying our base of
supporters by approaching additional foundations and other sources
we have not targeted in the past. including
labour unions and religious organizations across Canada.
On behalf of
EWA’s clients, volunteers, staff membe,rs and Board
of Directors thank you to all of our you who support our
organization.supporters.
Program and Contract* Staff:
Biographies
Joanne Bacon, manages the Women with Disabilities and Deaf
Women’s Program and the Older Women Abuse Program. She is
also responsible for the development and management of severalnew projects
aimed at improving access for marginalized women who have been abused.
including older women. Joanne has developed training materials, manuals
and programs on a variety of equity issues for educators, justice system
personnel, health care providers and other service providers.
Neslyn Burgess*, holds diplomas in Human Services Counseling and
the Community Worker Programs, currently coordinates publications distribution
at EWA and provides administrative support on a number of projects. Neslyn
brings counseling experience from St. Michael's Treatment House and Matt Talbot
Recovery Homes.
Bruce Glasser*, FCI, CGA has served as bookkeeper to several
non-profit agencies for the past 10 years.
In addition to keeping EWA’s books in order, Bruce, with support from
program staff produces financial reports for all funders.
Yukyung Kim Cho, coordinates
Volunteer Program and Young Women’s Program. As a coordinator, facilitator,
counselor and volunteer, she has worked in the areas of violence against women
and sex education for eight years. Yukyung has been active part of women's rights
movements and social justice seeking solidarity
work in South Korea and Canada for the past eleven years at local and
international levels. She recently conducted With thirty
women activists in East Asia and Canada, she conducted a popular
research project, Jamming with
Women's Rights Activists in East Asia for her Masters of
Environmental Studies.
Jila Khodrang*, BA, Master of Library and Information Sciences,
is Information Sciences Specialist working on project for CHN. She has further
education on Network Administration and Web Site Design. Previously worked as
Librarian in UTLAS Database, Office of Legislative Counsel and as Database
Assistance at IBM.
Catherine MacKinnon* is an educator, activist and advocate for the
rights of Deaf women and children in the area of violence against women. Catherine
has worked with EWA on a number of initiatives dealing with Deaf, deafened and
hard of hearing women and violence prevention. Catherine coordinated the
development of a play “Hands OFF!” which dealt with violence against women in
the Deaf and mainstream communities which premiered at the Workman Theater in
June 2002. She is currently in her fourth year of Film Studies
at Ryerson Polytechnic University.
Francine Odette* is a disabled feminist, and a trainer/educator on
issues impacting women with disabilities for a number of years. She is currently working on the Access and
Education Project: Preventing Violence Against Women with Disabilities and Deaf
Women and the Domestic Violence Courts project. She has worked closely with
women's services and disability related organizations on issues such as
violence against women with disabilities, access to services, sexuality and
body image. Fran works with the Speak Up project at the Anne Johnston Health Station
with people who use augmentative and alternative communication in a Trillium
funded provincial project.
Erna Opena, BSc in Social Work, is an Administrator with
EWA. She came to this position from her
work with the Coalition for Visible Minority Women and the National Council of
Filipino Associations where she worked on their National Conference on Violence
Against Women in the Filipino Community.
Her work while Owner/Manager of ASAP WordPro Services contributed to
training youth and women to enter/re-enter the labour force.
Patty Porretta*, has been the Fundraising Coordinator at EWA for
just over two years. She has worked in the fundraising profession
for the past ten years for a number of community-based organizations at the
grass-roots level. Her experience is
diverse and she has raised funds for a number of worthy causes including
violence prevention against women, human rights, crime prevention, children’s
mental health, social justice and health issues including AIDS/HIV and end of
life issues.
Marsha Sfeir, BA/Ed, Executive Director, has been
Coordinator of Training and Education for 15 years and has been an educator and activist for
social justice for 375 years. She has been listed in each
edition of Who's Who of
Canadian Women since 1995 andand has received
the Soroptiimist
International's "Women Helping Women" Award in
1991. Marsha was recently awardedand the Mt. Sinai
Hospital's Women's Achievement Award for “Promoting Awareness of
Domestic Violence as a Significant Health Issue". Her publications include five volumes of
curriculum on social issues and numerous study guides, essays and fact sheets on
woman abuse. recently the Study Guide
for Finding Our Voice: Healing
thoughts from survivors of woman abuse.
Beryl Tsang, MA works with immigrant and refugee women where
she provides training and develops materials for newcomer communities. A
long-time community development worker, she has designed, implemented and
evaluated anti-violence programs both locally and internationally. She has also
published widely in the areas of race and identity.
Students
2002/2003
This year, the students have been a delightful,
hardworking addition to the work of EWA.
Diana Kirzner
Katheryn Brandt ine
Michelle
Ratcliffe
Roxanne Bolton
Gaymel White
Board of Directors:
Biographies
2003-04is in her
first year of a two yearhas a Program at
thedegree from
the and has held numerous
volunteer positions at Planned Parenthood, TorontoCurrently she is on the
Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood of Toronto where her responsibilities
include development around organizational policy issues, community outreach
programs and assisting in the formulation of Equity and Anti-Discrimination,
Harassment and Solicitation Policy. Teboho is also a Volunteer Sexual Health
Counsellor with The House, a Planned Parenthood agency. Past volunteer
positions include Teen Sex Infoline Counsellor and Toronto Bail Program
volunteer.
21in her first year ofcompletinginas a 98 for the
first time
Teboho
Mpela, is in her first year of a two year Master of Social
Work Program at the University of Toronto. She earned an Honors Bachelor of
Arts degree from York University double majoring in Sociology and Law and
Society. She has been an emergency occasional supply teacher with the Toronto
District School Board at the high school level standing in for math, science
and social science classes. Currently she is on the Board of Directors of
Planned Parenthood of Toronto where her responsibilities include development
around organizational policy issues, community outreach programs and assisting
in the formulation of Equity and Anti-Discrimination,
Harassment and Solicitation Policy. Teboho is also a Volunteer Sexual Health
Counsellor with The House, a Planned Parenthood agency. Past volunteer
positions include Teen Sex Infoline Counsellor and Toronto Bail Program
volunteer.
Lois Fine, CGA has 21 years of finance experience in the
non-profit and charitable sector. Her
work history encompasses a number of community agencies, many of them focusing
on women's issues. She has worked at the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre, Bread and
Roses Credit Union, Women's Press, Homes First Society, and most recently
as the Director of Finance at the YWCA of Greater
Toronto. She is a volunteer with the United
Way of Greater Toronto Allocations Panel. Lois is currently pursuing a duo
career as a financial consultant to charities/non-profits and as a writer. She
is also a proud mother.
Teboho Mpela, is in her second year of a two year Master of
Social Work Program at the University of Toronto. She earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from York
University double majoring in Sociology and Law and Society. She has been an
emergency occasional supply teacher with the Toronto District School Board at
the high school level standing in for math, science and social science classes.
Currently she is on the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood of Toronto
where her responsibilities include development around organizational policy
issues, community outreach programs and assisting in the formulation of Equity
and Anti-Discrimination, Harassment and Solicitation Policy. Teboho is also a
Volunteer Sexual Health Counsellor with The House, a Planned Parenthood agency.
Past volunteer positions include Teen Sex Infoline Counsellor and Toronto Bail
Program volunteer.
Hazelle Palmer, is currently the Executive Director of Planned
Parenthood of Toronto. Her past
experiences include working as a Television Producer for Women's Television
Network (WTN) and Upfront Entertainment and is the former Managing Editor of
Healthsharing Magazine. Hazelle is
committed to anti-violence education and to creating tools which are
women-positive and which enable women and children to know their rights and to
empower themselves. Born in London,
England and raised in Montreal, Hazelle now lives in Toronto with her
eight-year old daughter, Ashae. She is
currently working on a novel.
Marilda Tselepis was born in Brazil and lived in Chile attending the
Catholic University of Chile. Marilda left Chile after the coup d'etat 1973 and
came to Canada soon after. Marilda is a
founding member of the Working Women Community Center and is a member of the
Board of Directors there. She was a member of the Times Change Women's
Employment Center's collective for four years and 1978 became the coordinator
of the Women Working with Immigrant Women. Since 1979, Marilda has worked at
the YWCA of Greater Toronto in six different positions, including as a manager
of McPhail House the largest housing
Project the
YWCA of Greater Toronto has been involved with, Director of Residential
Services, Director of Women's Services and for the last year as the Director of
Employment and Skills Development and the staff liaison to the International
Cooperation Committee for the past 10 years. Marilda has served on many
community boards: Times Change, Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic, Toronto
Refuge
Center,
ACTEW, Working Women Community Center, Arauco Housing Cooperative. Marilda is
married for 23 years and has no children.
Jennifer Machado graduated from York University with an Honours
Bachelor of Arts degree with double majors in Sociology and
Law and Society. Currently, she is in
her first year of a two-year program in Correctional Worker. She is a volunteer with Operation
Springboard as well as the Elizabeth Fry Society. Her responsibilities with these organizations include providing
information to the client, referring their concerns to the appropriate person,
running programs such as life skills, and presentations. Past volunteer experiences include Ontario
Lupus Association, Teens in Ontario Living with Lupus, Toronto Bail Program,
and Princess Margaret Hospital.double majoring in Sociology and Law and Society.
Currently, she is in her first year of a two-year program in Correctional
Worker. She is a volunteer with Operati on Springboard as well as the Elizabeth
Fry Society. Her responsibilities with these organizations include providing
information to the client, referring their concerns to the appropriate person,
running programs such as lifeskills, and presentations. Past volunteer
experiences include Ontario Lupus Association, Teens in Ontario Living with
Lupus, Toronto Bail Program, and Princess Margaret Hospital.
Emily Chan,
LLB, is the Community Development Lawyer at Justice
for
Children and Youth. She has a
further interest in mental health and public
interest law. During
her legal studies at Queen's University, Emily was a teaching assistant
for the undergraduate women's studies department. Emily is committed to
promoting equality and access to justice. Her experiences include the
organization of conferences, round table discussions and art exhibits for
various social justice issues.
Emily Chan, LLB, is a recently called lawyer
practicing in the areas of mental health law and public interest
litigation. During her legal studies at
Queen’s University, Emily was a teaching assistant for the undergraduate
women’s studies department. Emily is
committed to promoting equality and access to justice. Her experiences include the organization of
conferences, round table discussions and art exhibits for various social
justice issues. Emily is a volunteer
with the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture.
Christa
Thomas, lawyer, has experience in human
resources, finance and fundraising in addition to practising law as a partner
at Jellinek, Thomas. Called to the bar in 1997 she formerly practiced business
law with several charities and not for profit organizations as clients. Christa
now focuses on plaintiff side personal injury, with an emphasis on helping
survivors of sexual assaultChrista Thomas, lawyer, has
experience in human resources, finance and fundraising in addition to
practising law as a partner at Jellinek and Road. Called to the bar in 1997 she
has been practicing business and estates law and has several charities and not
for profit organizations as clients.
.
Anni Lin is a Pension
Analyst at Mercer Human Resources Consulting in Toronto. She has acquired much
international experience working in sales and marketing in China and Taiwan.
She has attended McGill University where she was an assistant to a professor in
the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics and earned her Bachelor of
Commerce in Finance and Marketing. She has won several academic awards and is
proficient in English, French, and Mandarin. She has completed the Canadian
Securities Course and is currently pursuing the Chartered Financial Analyst
designation. She currently volunteers on a fundraising committee for
Women-In-Motion and feels very strongly about EWA's role in safeguarding
women’s rights.
Anni Lin is a Pension
Analyst at Mercer Human Resources Consulting in Toronto. She has a wealth of
experience in finance and administration in Canada and Taiwan. Anni attended
McGill University where she was an assistant to a professor in the Department
of Pharmacology and Therapeutics and earned her Bachelor of Commerce, Finance
and Marketing. She has won several academic awards and is proficient in English
French and Mandarin. Anni feels very strongly about the role of EWA in
safeguarding women’s rights.
Mariela Morales works as a Worker Adviser at the Ministry of Labour
where she provides advice and representation to injured workers, represents
clients at mediation/hearings and educates community organisations, MPP staff
and injured workers groups. She obtained her law degree from the Law School,
Faculty of Political and Administrative Sciences in Santiago, Chile. Mariela
has a strong commitment to women’s issues and has served on several community
boards and is an active member of LANG (Latin American Working Group).
Hazelle
Palmer, (resigning) is currently the Executive Director
of Planned Parenthood of Toronto. Her past experiences include working as a Television
Producer for Women's Television Network (WTN) and Upfront
Entertainment and is the former Editor of Healthsharing Magazine. Hazelle is
committed to anti-violence education and to creating tools that are
women-positive and which enable women and children to know
their rights and to empower themselves. Born in London, England and raised in
Montreal, Hazelle now lives in Toronto with her 10-year old daughter,
Ashae.
Rifka Khalilieh is comes from an environmental and social justice
activism background. She worked with several youth and student organizations to
develop their environmental and social justice programs. As Environmental and
Ethical Auditor at the Body Shop, Rifka directs her efforts towards achieving a
balanced link between the business’ needs with those of the environment and
community.
the Values Facilitator for The Body Shop, Canada.
Standing for Election:
Ellen
Nichols Raised and
educated in the Deep South, Ellen had an interesting upbringing as the child of
civil rights activists which cemented a lifelong dedication to social
justice. In 1966 she headed north to
graduate school at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Child Study and
never went back. Her first job was as
Supervisor of Recreation for the Hospital for Sick Children but in 1988 her
career took a sharp turn when she volunteered with Norman Jewison in helping
him start up the Canadian Film Centre. She discovered she had a knack for
charitable fundraising and became their first Director of Development.
After four years there, she
has continued in the field of development, working for Hincks Centre for
Children’s Mental Health, University of Toronto’s Faculty of Arts and Science,
CAPIC National Show, Education Wife Assault, YWCA of Greater Toronto and
currently Integra where the funds she helps raise support programs for children
and youth whose learning disabilities are accompanied by mental health issues.
Carol Zavitz works for
the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, and has spent the last 18 years
bargaining for, organizing, and supporting elementary teachers in Ontario's
public schools. Her current focus within the union is on equity and women's
programs. Earlier, Carol was a researcher with the Advisory Council on the
Status of Women in Ottawa, and an editor at Resources for Feminist Research.
Thanks to EWA Volunteers 2002/2003
Education Wife Assault would
like to extend an enthusiastic “Thank You!” to the following individuals who
have graciously volunteered with EWA.
These volunteers make our work possible and the list continues.