By Adam Ophus

Family Violence Awareness

Mountain Rose Women’s Shelter settling into new home

Nov 2, 2019 | 12:53 PM

It’s been nearly two months since the Mountain Rose Women’s Shelter Association made the big move into their new 20,000 square foot facility.

“It’s exciting, it’s scary, but we’re very proud of the new building,” said Cindy Easton, executive director.

“We have a few admin offices, we have many community services offices, we have a 21-bed emergency shelter and we will have five apartments that will be second stage apartments,” she said of the building’s layout.

She also explained what the shelter offers and what bringing in second stage apartments will do to help women get back on their feet.

“The emergency shelter or first aid shelter is a 21-day emergency location for women and children fleeing violence, so basically it’s for an emergency where she’s fleeing violence, and this is a safe place. We take care of their food and toiletries and everything that they need and we keep them safe in our secure building,” Easton said.

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“After the 21 days in our shelter, if they qualify for second stage, they can move into an apartment with their children; and the apartments they can live in for 18 months, but they have to agree to programming.”

The focus during the 18 months in second stage will be to provide programs and training that will help them to understand what domestic violence is and how to break the cycle.

“We also help mom and children rebuild their bonds because a lot of times in domestic violence, the trust is broken. We also help the children heal,” Easton continued.

She also noted that the second stage shelter services now offered by Mountain Rose are the first of their kind in west central Alberta.

“What the statistics tell us is if women don’t have a safe place to go, they will return to the abuser,” she said.

“It takes a woman seven to nine times to leave an abusive situation before she’ll make a clear break and a lot of times when we ask, ‘Why did you go back?’ they say ‘Because I couldn’t find a place to live or I had no money or I’m going back because the children miss their dad.’ There are all these different reasons.

“When someone’s in a domestic violence situation for a long time, they even start questioning their own decision-making, so if they don’t have a safe place to heal and to make changes in their lives, we will see the circle of them coming back, and 21 days in emergency shelter doesn’t give them enough time to make life-changing decisions. That’s why second stage is so important.”

Easton added that this is a big month for them because it is Family Violence Awareness Month. On Nov. 21 and 22, the MRWSA will be partnering with the Rocky Native Friendship Centre to put on the first ever family violence conference.

Attendees will hear firsthand from children who were raised in households with domestic violence and are now adults.

Tickets are available on Eventbrite, or call the MRWSA at 403-845-5339.