Saffron Newsletter - Summer 2008

Message from the Executive Director -Dorthe Flauer, Executive Director

It has been an exciting six months since our last newsletter was published. I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone by as we have experienced many changes, much growth at our Centre. We have received an overwhelming positive response from the community as we meet the needs of clients affected by sexual violence.

Inside this issue: Message from the Executive Director

2

Website Updates

3

ONYX Teen Girls

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Presentation Statistics

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Public Education

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Secure Connection

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Events

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it was probably one of the coldest nights of the winter. We had a great turnout, with lots of prizes, and I would like to extend my thanks to all who participated in this worthwhile fun event. In March we were honored to be the recipients of the proceeds from the Vagina Monologues that was presented at the Eva O. Howard Theatre on March 31st. We are very grateful to Lorraine Krauss for making this connection for us giving us the opportunity to work with Amanda Omoth and her group. The actresses did an awesome job and we thank all of the talented and very dedicated women who performed and donated their time to our Centre.

cakes for breakfast for hungry gardeners as they purchase their treasures for the year. We were also very fortunate to participate in the BBQ lunches at Salisbury as well this year. I’d like to extend a very big thank you to Rob Sproule, Anna Pandos and all the staff of Salisbury who have assisted to make this a memorable month long event in the County of Sherwood Park.

In February we provided the second run of our ‘Ctrl, Alt, Delete’ play in Fort As many of you are aware, Jocelyn BeauSaskatchewan with the cast from the dette-Hodsman has moved onto higher Sheeptown Players. Two daytime presplaces, namely the 21st floor of the Scotia Tower (with a window yet) as an EAP entations were offered to over 600 counsellor for a large firm downtown. junior and high school students and in the We miss Jocelyn and her quiet and evening the performance was well attended by many community members. caring presence and wish her all the best in her new position. Since that time SAFFRON has Since February 2008, we received funding have received a record from the Communumber of intakes to our nity Incentive Fund Centre and we are very for our Secure fortunate to have three Connections procontract therapists who gram, specifically have been providing our new project excellent therapy and called ‘Youth Leadtreatment to our clients. ership in CommuI’m pleased to introduce nication Safety’. Karin Lord, Registered This funding allows Psychologist and her us to produce the therapy Corgi Lou to our Ctrl, Alt, Delete Centre. Karin has been a play into a DVD great resource and supvideo production On June 26, Strathcona County Councillor Linda Osinchuk presented SAFFRON port to our staff as we that will be distribwith a cheque to assist with ongoing services. Councillor Osinchuk was transition our services uted to rural cominstrumental in initiating this donation from the discretionary funds of the from supportive counselmunities throughout following Councillors: Linda Osinchuk, Vic Bidzinski, Peter Wlodarczak, Glen ing to therapy and treatAlberta. We are Lawrence, Jason Gariepy. Executive Director Dorthe Flauer accepts this cheque ment. We are also very hoping to develop on behalf of SAFFRON with board members Jenn Elliott (Vice President), Judy fortunate to have two youth focus groups Bain (President), Alan Dunn, and Liz Pratt (from left to right). Clinical Social Workers to address the on contract with us: Joy issues of cyberIn April we geared up for our second Peterson and Stephanie Bozzer. With bullying in rural communities by working ‘Heal with Teal’ Sexual Violence their support and hard work, our counwith them online through our new WebAwareness month that ran throughout seling program has experienced an insite: Secure Connections.com. May with various events and presentacrease in referrals and new clients of tions. I am very pleased and honored to over 300% during the past year(see graph SAFFRON staff and Board also hosted say that we have exceeded our expectaon page 2). our second annual ‘Casino Latino’ fund tions with the wonderful support that we raising event at the Whitecroft Commu(continued on next page) have received from our community. We nity Hall with the exciting entertainment were at the Salisbury Greenhouses since of ‘Hardly a Band.’ The band kept us May 10 up to June 8, cooking up panwarm with their wit and humor although

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Message from the Executive Director (con’t) -Dorthe Flauer, Executive Director

As I have shared with you before, I don’t believe that sexual violence is necessarily on the increase, but I do believe that clients are now feeling more secure and safe to come forward and with the increase in awareness of what we do, it is easier for them to access our services. For the first year of my time with SAFFRON, many people I met in the community were very surprised when I told them I worked with Strathcona Sexual Assault Centre. A very common response was, “I didn’t know there was a sexual assault centre in Sherwood Park.”.

Program cover from ‘The Vagina Monologues’ presented in March

There have been changes to our Public Education program and we are very fortunate to have Katie Kitschke on board as our Public Education Coordinator. Katie has a great energy and passion for working with youth in the schools and since she arrived at SAFFRON in February, she has tripled the number of presentations that have been provided to students in our schools. To date, SAF-

FRON has presented 280 presentations to over 7520 of students and teachers. Katie has also increased the number of different schools that she has made presentations with very few schools in the County that were not able to have her provide one of her energetic and exciting sessions to students. Teri Stannard who has been working at SAFFRON since September 1, 2007 is working in her new role as Seeds of Healing Admin Coordinator and is providing support to clients that call the Centre in need of our services. Teri is responsible for all of our intakes and makes connections with many other organizations as we work to meet the needs of our clients. Our ONYX Teen Girls program has been very successful this year with Teri has also worked intensely in the ONYX Teen Girls program at the Next Step Out Reach Broadmoor School. Many

days, Teri was called to the school to assist teens with various issues and always came back to the Centre with a renewed energy and dedication to the girls. It has been a very rewarding year to have worked so closely with Youth Workers, Christa Shelley and Tracy Zala of the Next Step Outreach Schools in both Sherwood Park and Fort Saskatchewan. The staff of SAFFRON work endlessly with creativity, determination and dedication to create awareness and provide presentations to students, teachers, parents and other community members as well as to other professionals. With this awareness SAFFRON has gained a presence as a credible, agency that provides, caring, supportive, timely and affordable services to victims and their families.

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We’re always looking for volunteers to assist in various ways. . We greatly appreciate people who can take time out of their busy schedules. If you are unable to commit time, we also accept donations and can provide you with a tax receipt.

SAFFRON was fortunate to have a branch of the Sherwood Park Red Hat Society come out and volunteer for one of the Pancake Breakfasts during the 2008 Heal with Teal Campaign. They’re youthful energy and excitement brought a smile to customers faces and helped turn a cool spring day into an enormous success.

Website Updates -Eric Atkinson, Webmaster

Since we are continually growing and evolving here at SAFFRON, the webpage has had to go through some changes as well. In April, we officially launched our new SAFFRON site, that features a full flash front end (and a first for the site...background music). I am pleased to say that there haven’t been any major issues with the site, and it has continued to expand.

In June, a new main directory page was created to allow visitors to navigate to the different pages that were being developed. With this page now complete, the ONYX Teen Girls page was next, and currently being developed is the page devoted to information on sexual violence and the reporting process titled ‘It’s Never the Victim’s Fault’ (see the sneak peek below).

‘Secure Connection’. This link currently goes to a ‘Coming Soon’ page. With the recent CIF grant that we have received, www.yoursecureconnection.com is now going to be the new front for our ‘Secure Connection’ Program. Always remember to check our main page for upcoming events and news!

On the home page, there is also a link to

From Left to Right: The new SAFFRON Main Page (www.saffron-ssac.com), the new SAFFRON flash site, and ‘It’s Never The Victim’s Fault’ (preview)

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ONYX in full swing -Teri Stannard, Counselling Co-Ordinator and ONYX Facilitator

It has been great year for ONYX, we have seen the program grow to new heights. To date, the 10 week ONYX Program has been run three times in the Centre, twice at Next Step Outreach School in Fort Saskatchewan, Broadmoor Next Step Outreach School in Sherwood Park, three sessions at Fort Saskatchewan Boys and Girls Club and we have just completed two summer sessions here at our Centre with one more summer session booked for August. Look for current advertising for our upcoming ONYX groups. Special thanks to THE BODY SHOP (Sherwood Park Mall) for their support of the ONYX Program.

As our reputation grows so do our referrals for participants. We have received referrals and requests for information about our program from PChAD Edmonton, Victim Services, FCSS, Mental Health, School Counselors, Children’s Services and local parent groups. In

addition, SAFFRON provides support and counseling through our outreach services. Some of the topics we address in the program include: setting healthy boundaries (on the internet, in relationships, at work, sports and school), how to say no, dealing with anger, stress and other emotions, dating violence, dealing with bullying, peer pressure and intimidation, body awareness, stereotypes and media influences as well as taking a closer look at empowering young women and building self-esteem and a sense of identity. The greatest achievement though, according to the girls who participate, is getting to know the different participants in the group and bonding together as friends who normally wouldn’t have

anything to do with each other outside the group. SAFFRON is very pleased to announce that with the continued support of the Canadian Women's Foundation, funding has been provided for ONYX for 20082009. We look forward to another successful year.

We’re ‘Making Connections’ Public Education Presentation Statistics

Community Presentations (From September 2007 – June 2008) Presentations: Attendees:

41 1295

Notable presentations: Alberta Technology Leaders in Education Conference October,2007 Red Deer, Alberta 3 Presentations to 186 Attendees ‘Ctrl Alt Delete’ Play November, 2007 Leduc, Alberta; Sherwood Park, Alberta 3 Presentations to 435 Attendees Flint Energy Professional Development January, 2008 Sherwood Park, Alberta 3 Presentations to 60 Attendees Elk Island Public Schools Support Staff Professional Development February, 2008 Sherwood Park, Alberta 2 Presentations to 40 Attendees Edmonton and Area District Parole Professional Development March, 2008 Edmonton, Alberta 1 Presentation to 25 Attendees Neighborhood Empowerment Team (NET) w/ Edmonton Police Service and Crown Prosecutor Craig Kreiger 1 Presentation to 21 Attendees Strathcona Christian Academy Staff In-service May, 2008 Sherwood Park, Alberta 1 Presentation to 25 Attendees

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To find out more about our ‘Making Connections’ Public Education Program... • Check out the website at www.saffron-ssac.com or email [email protected] • Call us at 780-449-0900 • Or pick up some info at the Centre!

‘Making Connections’ in Public Education -Katie Kitschke, Public Educator

Sexual assault is a reality and it is happening in our community. Our centre is making it a priority to let the community know that we are here and we are able to help. We are speaking to concerned parents and educators and most importantly we are speaking to the children. We need them to know we are here. We need them to understand that we can help them to heal from the pain of sexual assault and lead a productive life. Over the past 3 months I have given more than 100 presentations to thousands of students in our community, and at one point I began to ask myself if what I was doing was really making a difference. Within days of wondering that, the answer was made very obvious to me. In doing 6 presentations at various high schools in our community, I was approached by at least one student at each presentation with a story to tell me. Sometimes, I would have 4 or 5 of them waiting to talk to me after a presentation

to tell me what they are dealing with and to ask me for advice. We need to realize that the youth in our community are exposed to many dangers, whether it is on the internet, at school, at work, at parties, or even at home. We have a responsibility to be proactive in educating them about how to protect themselves and what to do if they are a victim of sexual assault, harassment or bullying. We need to show them that someone is here to help them and to listen. We never want to turn someone away that has the courage to speak up about the violence that they have endured. We need our community to support SAFFRON, so that no one has to deal with their pain alone. After giving a presentation on Sexual Assault, I was approached by a student that was hurting. She told me that she had never even heard of SAFFRON. She also told me, “I want you to know that you touched me and changed my life

today. Thank you for your presentation.” I know that SAFFRON is making a difference. I know that these youth that are feeling alone and afraid are finally learning that they can be healed. It fills my heart with so much hope to know that we are able to make a difference and that we can offer such a vital program and service in Strathcona County. The statistics are alarmlying high for victims of sexual assault. Everyone in our community is at risk; Men, Women, Children, Seniors. We need to do as much as we can to protect and heal the victims as well as educate others about the dangers they may be exposed to. We need the victims to know that it is not their fault. We need them to realize that we will be here to support them and hold them up when they need us. We need to keep talking so that everyone can hear our message.

Funding for DVD Production With the great success and positive response for our ‘Ctrl Alt Delete’ Play, SAFFRON applied for funding to produce the play into a DVD movie that will be distributed to rural communities to address the issues of cyber-bullying. SAFFRON will assist schools and other organizations to present the play to their local community and the goal is also to set up youth focus groups to address bullying in their own community.

Program cover from the performances of ‘CTRL ALT DELETE’ at the Dow Centennial Centre in Fort Saskatchewan in February. The performances were a great success and very well received by the numerous schools and community members who were present.

SAFFRON is in the process of setting up a new website: yoursecureconnection.com for information about the cyberbullying issues that often spin into sexual violence against youth. This website will be developed to set up a forum for youth in the province to share their experiences and to create a dialogue about what they can do to make a difference in their area.

congratulated SAFFRON on this project as they are very impressed with the provincial focus of this grant. SAFFRON has now contracted with Bill Roberts of

Celtic Raine Productions to produce the video for distribution in January 2009. Celtic Raine has been very busy with auditions for the cast during the past month. Dwight Denton and Stu McGowan from the Fort Saskatchewan Sheeptown Players have been involved in recruiting young teens and assisting Bill with the auditions. SAFFRON will be producing a teacher's guide to be provided with the DVD. With requests coming in from many places including as far off as Seattle Washington for the DVD, Dorthe Flauer is confident that this will be an excellent opportunity for our local actors to gain recognition for their talent , but also that it is also an excellent way to get the issues of cyberbullying 'out there' and talked about in all of Alberta.

Executive Director Dorthe Flauer with the Director of SAFFRON’s ‘Ctrl Alt Delete’ Play, Dwight Denton of the Sheeptown Players Drama Society pictured at the February production in Fort Saskatchewan.

In June, SAFFRON was granted funding from the Community Incentives Fund (CIF) through the Provincial Government. CIF staff

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Our 2nd Annual Casino Latino was the hottest thing going on during the coldest night of the year (-33°C). Entertainment was provided by ‘Hardly a Band’ (Alex Russo and Jeff Fillion) and we were overwhelmed by the support from the community for not only sponsoring silent auction items, but setting a record in attendance. The fun casino was staffed by the Big Idea Company and we look forward to putting on the next casino February 28, 2009!

May was again proclaimed as ‘Sexual Violence Awareness Month’ in both Strathcona County and Fort Saskatchewan. The ‘Heal with Teal’ Campaign included the Proclamation Ceremonies in Sherwood Park and Fort Saskatchewan, a Lunch And Learn as well as pancake breakfasts and BBQ lunches in support of the Centre (pictured above). Along with SAFFRON, the following organizations were recipients of proceeds from the fundraising: Parent’s Place, Hearts & Hooves Edmonton, and the Fort Saskatchewan & Sherwood Park Boys & Girls Clubs were also participated. We also appreciate the tireless efforts of our many volunteers who helped make these events a success.

Sign-A-Rama Sherwood Park Owner Ian Proctor with Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach at their official grand opening. SAFFRON was on hand to provide hamburger and hot dog lunch that was a part of the grand opening festivities.

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach congratulated Executive Director Dorthe Flauer for the Centre’s work and for collaborating with Sign-A-Rama to mutually benefit in the grand opening festivities.

SAFFRON BOARD OF DIRECTORS

SAFFRON STAFF

MEMBERS AT LARGE

JUDY BAIN - PRESIDENT

DORTHE FLAUER, BA, RSW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

ALLAN ALCOCK ED ANDREWS MARY ANDREWS ALLEN BAIN CEDAR BEAUDETTE-HODSMAN CHRIS BEAUDETTE-HODSMAN KAI BEAUDETTE-HODSMAN DOROTHY HARRIS GAIL KRAUSS JACK KRAUSS LORRAIN KRAUSS GERRY LEE JO MCAULEY JOAN RICHARDSON SUZANNE RUSSELL BILLIE THOMPSON ANNE VIMTRUP

JENNIFER ELLIOTT - VICE PRESIDENT DAN TABASHNIUK - SECRETARY RAHAT ABDULLA

TERI STANNARD, BSc, BEd COUNSELLING CO-ORDINATOR KATIE KITSCHKE PUBLIC EDUCATOR

EVA BUSKAS ALAN DUNN

ERIC ATKINSON WEBMASTER / GRAPHIC DESIGNER

LINDA OSINCHUK

CONTRACTORS

LIZ PRATT

JOY PETERSON, MSW, RSW

JIM PRATT (Honorary)

STEPHANIE BOZZER, MSW, RSW KARIN LORD, R Psych.

SAFFRON: STRATHCONA SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTRE LTD. #44 48 BRENTWOOD BOULEVARD SHERWOOD PARK, AB T8A 2H5 P: 780-449-0900 F: 780-416-2393 E: [email protected] W: www.saffron-ssac.com HOURS: 9:00AM - 5:00PM (MONDAY TO FRIDAY)