YWCA Westman were pleased to receive a total of $15,000 from the Brandon Area Community Foundation Grant Funds to women and their children re-building their lives following domestic abuse.

"This is the second year we've offered this program in partnerships with the BACF," shares YWCA Westman Executive Director Lois Ruston. "This funding helps the Westman Women’s Shelter to provide clients and their families with a variety of household items to set up their new home."

"As an organization we support them to find housing and help them to get settled in their new home, but of course many of our clients end up leaving their situation with nothing or with very little and just what they need for themselves and their children if they have, to get to safety. So, what this program does is to allow us to provide support in the way of linens and small appliances and basic small furniture to help people get started again and start a new life in a new home for themselves and their children following domestic violence."

In 2022, there were 117,093 victims of Intimate Partner Violence, aged 12 years and older in Canada, with an overall rate of 346 incidents per 100,000 population (Statistics Canada 2023). Unfortunately, the prevalence of violence against women has been increasing in recent years, creating troubling statistics such as these.

YWCA Westman operates the Westman Women’s Shelter, which delivers programs and services that focus on the prevention of, and recovery from, gender-based violence situations.

This is the second year for the Fresh Start program.

According to Lois Ruston, Executive Director of YWCA Westman, “Support from the Brandon Area Community Foundation will enable us to provide items that will contribute to a fresh start for our clients as they re-build their lives. We are working to give our individuals the items that they will need in their new home such as small appliances, linens, and items for their children. Starting over can be daunting, so these funds will provide comfort and essentials for our clients as they build their new home.”

Please listen to more with Lois Ruston below!

Brandon Area Community Foundation exists to serve the communities of southwestern Manitoba by maintaining and administering a permanent endowment fund aimed at strengthening and improving the quality of life throughout the region, today and into the future. YWCA Westman extends its deepest gratitude to the Brandon Area Community Foundation and our many partners, who support our programming and services and assist us to provide a turning point for women.