Page 12A The Castlegar Sun Wednesday, February 19, 1992 = Education Continued from 112A is for his students, “Many of these young people do not know what they want to do with themselves and what they need to know to become productive members of society.” The presenters indicated they need “seed money” in the form of & Career prep co-ordinator to start developing programs. They will present a funding request to the board later this month. Trustee Robert Cacchioni said he will want conerete evidence that this program will Produce results before he agrees to funding “What has been going on in the high schools with the coun- selling programs? Counselling hasn't prepared the kids for any thing: What has been going on with the (Selkirk College) pre- apprenticeship programs in Nel- son? When the studenis get out there isn't anywhere for them to go, Has the Okanagan followed up to find out what the accep- tance rate is of their grads into apprenticeships and other pro- grams? | am not in favor of any funding until an agreement has been reached with at least one trade school that feels. the pro- gram is actually going to be any good.” Assorted Flavours. Regular or Diet. 2 Litre Bottle Plus Deposit. >” CRAGMONT SOFT DRIN I Product of Chile. 1.94/ kg OVENJOY BREAD White or 60% Whole Wheat. 570 g sliced PORK PICNICS Smoked. Shoulder Hock Removed. lb Approx. 5 Ib. Bag. Frozen. 1.08/ kg DRUMSTICKS 49 > SCHNEIDERS SHEPHERDS PIES 99 Beef or Steak. Frozen. 175 g pkg. Limit 6. a ICE CREAM Snow Star. 6 8 ea Lean Quality. Apporx. 10 Ib. bag. Limit 1 bag 4 ] A/ kg Step Style. & 8 26, 30, 40, 42, or 54's: lb Limit 1.Over limit price11.78 ea HUGGIES DIAPERS O* Assorted flavours. Monday - Wednesday 9am-6pm 4 Litre Thursday & Friday STORE Saturday 9am-6 pm Sunday 9am -9 pm 10 am- 5pm WE REDEEM ALL MAJOR HOURS Saturday, Feb. 22, 1992 at FOOD COMPETITOR COUPONS On Items We Carry In-s your Castlegar Safeway store. Quantity rights reserved |: Wife assault in our society hen it comes to offering service programs for women who are being abused, Castlegar is a have-not i to mind. “Castlegar has been under-serviced for most of its life. It's your basic working-class community which isn’t heard as well or as often as a com- munity with a greater degree of Lakes, Administrator f Community Services has everything to do with Politics and nothing to do with service need,” Lakes continued. Castlegar Community Services is one outlet for women seeking assis- tance. The small office, located at 1007-2nd Ave. downtown, might very well epitomize Castlegar’s lack of support services; the building itself needs ren- Ovations. . Due to the shortage in fund- and says that when the expansion is complete to the new children’s women will find a greater support system in their ity. “Women who are beaten generally have very low self-esteem, FACT Frequent exposure to violent ir terac tions betwee rents can adversely affect a child mental health behaviour and future the expanded daycare centre which we will be offering, the support system will also allow woman the opportunity to upgrade their education or retrain A new Women's Organization in Castlegar, which saw official recogni- tion by the Federal government earlier this year, is in the process of estab- lishing another alternative for women i The Women’s Association has dinator for Castlegar's first ever Simms, who has been given a deadline to have the system in place, is adamant that Castlegar is in dire need of the program. Part 2 “When it comes to services for women, Castlegar is definitely behind the ¢cight-ball,” she said in an earlier interview. Once established, the safe home system will be run completely by volun- teers, who will remain anonymous to everyone except the women being battered. ‘Bar to pick up the woman and her children and drive them to a safe home, that is, a second-volunteer's home in Castlegar where she can spend the next 48-hours in safety. Here, the woman can np her si and future options in a safe and stress-free environment Her partner will have no idea where she is. “The success of the safe home system depends entirely upon its secrecy,” Simms said. The co-ordinator is hoping to have at least five safe homes in place and a yh who are to deal with the situa- As discussed in Part One, wife battering is a problem that affects all Socio-economic, cultural and religious backgrounds. Realizing this, Simms is working hard to promote the safe home system to alll cultures in Castle- &ar, inchuding the Portuguese, Italian and Russian “If anyone is interested in becoming involved they can contact Commu- finished. Conservative esti mates suggest that one in ten Canadian needs help. ” have never had to “Maybe you haven't got someone who is black and blue, and maybe the police be called in; but you still have a very unhappy family which nity Services in Castlegar,” Simms Members of the Castlega FACT . Frequently, violent inienrins Syrel — Patricia Lakes episode: alate in frequency and Cc ly Services severity; and likely women living with a man suffers physical abuse in their relationships. ing and government awareness, the small staff has learned to become extremely versa- tile to effectively deal with—among many other problems—Castlegar'’s domestic crisis Situations. Still, it is a place where six very dedicated workers provide services such as individual, lationship and [amily c: commu- nication skills; extended family services; a Community Work Service program; and Counselling services for sexually abused children and their families with Priority &iven to children, recent disclosures and cri- SIS situations. The catchment area for Community Ser- vices covers the same communities as School District No. 9, including Castlegar, Robson, Pass Creek, south to Genelle and €ast to the intersection of Highways 6 and 3A “T believe the latest Population update by the Recreation Commission has been esti- mated at 14,000 people,” Lakes continued. Castlegar Community Services takes referrals from other agencies, including the Court system. The agency also refers clients when it deems necessary. Lakes, who has often dealt with situations involving wife abuse, says the problem has Significant impacts on families—even when Physical violence has not occurred. “Maybe you haven't got someone who is black and blue and maybe the police have never had to be called in, but you still have a very unhappy family, which needs help.” Lakes stated that Community Services is P ly inve ig the p bilities of establishing a men’s group in Castlegar, which will offer counselling services for those men who wish to confront their vio- lence. “People in Castlegar are very wary of New services. So it might take awhile for this new program to get off the ground.” As stated in Past One, it is often difficult to get women who are being abused to seek assistance. They might believe they will be blamed for the abuse, or even face rejection by family and friends. If the woman or her partner do not come forward, there are cases where their children will Katrine Conroy, administrator of the Kootenay Columbia Childcare Society, an agency which runs a daycare centre in will not disappear without some intervention. RCMP say they fully endorse the idea of a safe home system in this community. Dealing with domestic disputes is one of the more common duties with which the RCMP are involved. According to Const. Russ Sangster, a member of this particular RCMP branch for four years, domestic dis- putes also Present a potential danger to an RCMP officer when called upon to the scene. “Normally a neighbor calls in to report that he hears a lot of screaming and things breaking. That doesn’t give an RCMP offi- cer a lot to go on, so you're entering a situ- ation you know almost nothing about,” Sangster said When entering a home where a domestic dispute or violence is taking place, RCMP officers must be extremely cautious when dealing with both abuser and victim. “The can be so i ly charged, so volatile, that you cannot tum your back for one minute on the abuser or the victim. There have been times, when a victim will attack an RCMP officer after calling him/her for assistance. I guess the Officer is seen as an intrusion by both vic- tim and abuser even though they were Tequested to be there.” Sangster says he sometimes feels dis- “I see that as a serious cry for coun- selling,” he continued. After dealing with a domestic dispyte, RCMP officers provide victims with a referral card, which includes the name and Phone number of services in the area where they can tum to for help and counselling Const. Sangster is currently working with Kay Medland, Trail victim assistance pro- gram co-ordinator to establish the Victim Assistant Program. The program. . will act as a special and in-depth referral service,” Sangster said. Castlegar city council has set aside $10,000 for the program in its 1992 budget. If the amount is matched by various levels of government, the program could be Castlegar, says there have been times when a child will give subue hints that all is not well at home “It’s very rare that a child has commented a safe home system. on abuse at home, either their own abuse or that of their mother. But when it does happen, you have to take it serious- ly—yet at the same time. consider whether or not this child might just be watching a lot of TV.” The Kootenay Columbia Childcare Society is hoping that. an expansion Project which has been at a construction standstill will Provide additional services for young mothers and their children when completed. “We're really hoping to offer more services for the entire family. I think this is important because in today’s Society, the family unit is so fragment- ed.” The Hobbit Hill daycare centre not only acts as a daycare centre, but dur- ing evening hours, it provides space for community support meetings. Conroy says she is aware there is the problem of wife abuse in Castlegar Now what? Admitting an abuse Soon, Castlegar will be able to off of a problematic riage; | inappropriate, unaccept: riminal benaviour Problem exists in your family is the first Step. Seeking help is the next. ler abused women a safe Place to find that help through the existence of February 24 regarding further funding of working with $30,000 a year. “We'll have a much better idea after SUN STAFF PHOTO / Shariene imhott the program,” Sangster finished. So what can individuals in Castlegar do about wife abuse? Officials say that members of the community’ should become better informed and aware of what wife abuse is, what it can involve and how it can be remedied. When a woman docs seek help, she should not be blamed for the ordeat Assaulted women, like all other women, are not Perfect. It might be tempt ing al time's to believe that they are responsible for at least part of the abuse The bottom line however, 1s that no woman ever deserves to be beaten. regardless of the kind of person she is. Any of the above People mentioned in this article can be contacted if an abusive or potentially abusive situation Presents itself. As well, the Wins Transition House in Trail can be contacted (they accept collect calls) at 364-1543.