Anti-violence program a success in the north

Elaine Ferland knows life may not have worked out as well for her if it were not for two adoptive parents who were “full of love.”

The 50-year old Aboriginal woman from Duck Bay says it’s the reason why she gives back so much to her rural northern community, about 430 km north of Winnipeg.

Ferland, a nurse and child and family services caseworker by training, is now a guidance counsellor with the Frontier School Division in Manitoba.

Every day she works with kids one-on-one to help them learn basic life skills. Committed to keeping kids safe in her community, Ferland relies on the expertise of the Canadian Red Cross and its violence and abuse prevention program – RespectED.

RespectED is made up of nine programs developed by the Canadian Red Cross to teach kids and adults what a healthy relationship is, how to recognize the signs of abuse, dating violence and harassment, and how to get help. Youth participants learn skills that help them develop healthy relationships.

Additionally, the RespectED program trains people in communities to become facilitators such as Elaine Ferland. She has been involved with RespectED for several years.

“For me it’s being able to give people something that they can use in their life and it’s not being forced upon them – it’s their choice,” says Ferland.

A number of northern communities and reserves are taking advantage of Ferland’s RespectED training and her ability to adapt it to Aboriginal culture. Recently, she was invited by one northern reserve to speak to children on a ceremonial ground – not in a traditional classroom where she is used to teaching RespectED programs.

Without the use of computers, flip charts, paper, pens and other tools, Ferland had to use her understanding of her culture to translate the RespectED messages by getting the kids involved interactively.

“It’s unbelievable how well it went,” says Ferland.

While the Canadian Red Cross did not see Ferland’s RespectED session on the reserve, the Society is very much aware of her and other facilitators’ dedication within the Frontier School Division. In January, the Canadian Red Cross presented its national Humanitarian Service Award to the Frontier School Division. For the past seven years, the school division has encouraged and facilitated the training of its staff to deliver RespectED violence and abuse prevention programs throughout northern Manitoba.

“Our school division is very rural and very northern and in order for us to do some of the work we do it’s important that we create partnerships. So, we look for organizations like Red Cross that have excellent (programs) to offer,” says Linda Ballentyne – Frontier School Division Board of Trustees Chairperson shortly after receiving the award.

Ballentyne says the programs have “given students an opportunity to talk and share and they have someone that they can trust who is from their community who will be able to help them if they have issues.”

To be eligible for the Humanitarian Service Award, the Frontier School Division had to meet a number of criteria including using RespectED programming to fill a gap between community need and existing ability to provide violence and abuse prevention programs. That task was made all the more challenging considering the size of the division.

“The geography of this division is enormous and the commitment of training personnel from all areas demonstrates a true understanding of building resiliency through community-based, community-paced, and community-directed programming,” says Phyllis Wiscombe, President of the Canadian Red Cross in Manitoba, who presented the award to the school division

For more information on Red Cross RespectED:
Rosemary Miguez
Rural Manitoba RespectED Coordinator
(204)-982-7346
rosemary.miguez@redcross.ca
Judy Peters
Winnipeg RespectED Coordinator
(204)-982-7323
judy.peters@redcross.ca
Or toll-free at 1-866-685-4250 and visit us online at www.redcross.ca/respected