Violence Awareness Week has been unanimously proclaimed by Yorkton Council.
The request to mark the week locally came from Erin Stacheruk and Nicole Prince who made a presentation to the regular meeting of Council Monday. The pair appeared on behalf of the Shelwin House and Dr. Brass School.
Stacheruk said
鈥淲e are requesting the week of Dec. 6 鈥� 12 be declared as 鈥淰iolence Awareness Week鈥�,鈥� she explained.
鈥淭his week encompasses the tragedy that occurred on Dec. 6, 1989, when a lone gunman shot and killed 14 female engineering students at a University in Montreal. In 1991, Dec. 6 was designated the 鈥楴ational Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.鈥�
Prince said the issue of violence is a serious one.
鈥淭he reality of violence affects each and every one of us. One in four Canadian women have experienced abuse from their partner. This stat is only from reported cases. It is with sadness, that we report that the services of Shelwin House as other transition houses are required more each year. This past year, in the month of August we refused eight admissions due to no space at the shelter,鈥� she related to Council.
鈥淲e are seeking the proclamation as a means of emphasizing the need for the entire community to work together to eliminate violence. We believe that with education, awareness and community support that we can teach violence is never acceptable, we hope to be able to reduce and prevent abuse in our society.鈥�
This year Shelwin House and Dr. Brass will host a Candlelight Vigil on Dec. 9, at 1:00 pm, at the school.
The guest speaker is Curtis Adams and he will present an in-depth analysis of bullying and cyber bullying, awareness, consequences and prevention information.
鈥淏ullying may be the saddest experience of any child or adult and may result in suicide or homicide. Our goal is to teach that abuse in any form is never acceptable,鈥� said Prince.
