October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

By Joan Janzen

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, and the third Thursday of the month is designated as Purple Thursday. This national day of action is an opportunity to raise awareness about domestic violence, as well as a way for people to show their commitment to promoting healthy relationships.

Purple Day 2022 will be held on October 20, and representatives from the Canadian Royal Purple (CRPS) Kindersley group will be positioned in front of the Kindersley Co-op food store for the occasion. Darlene May from the Royal Purple in Kindersley said CRPS has adopted brain injury awareness and prevention as their official cause. On Purple Thursday, lodges from British Columbia to Newfoundland will work with brain injury associations and women’s groups in their communities across the country.

Darlene May

“Stop the Violence” and “Paint Your Town Purple” have become key slogans for the Canadian Royal Purple for their first annual Purple Thursday. Royal Purple members have been planning this event for over six months.

Darlene said she was made aware that one in three women end up with a brain injury as a result of domestic violence, and more than half of women who survive domestic violence have PTSD. Consequently, Darlene and her fellow members have gathered items for care bags filled with personal hygiene supplies to be used for survivors fleeing violence. The group recognizes the intersection of interpersonal violence and brain injury.

“This is our first time doing this,” Darlene said. “We asked local merchants for donations of items to fill the bags. It was very well received in the community.”

The Royal Purple will present twenty care bags to the Crisis Centre on Purple Thursday. “The Crisis Centre covers such a wide area. Many times women end up leaving their homes without being able to take any personal items.”

The West Central Crisis Centre is one of the boots-on-the-ground organizations which help deliver healing and support to those who have suffered from domestic violence. The team at the Crisis Centre serves Kindersley, Kerrobert, Eston, Rosetown, Hanna, Oyen and Empress. They also have staff who serve in Biggar, Kerrobert, Macklin and across the border into Alberta.

The Crisis Centre noted cases of support for interpersonal violence and abuse increased from 6,531 in 2019-2020 to 11,035 in 2020-2021.

The pressures of job losses, and increased costs of essentials such as gas, food and utilities, magnify existing circumstances such as family dysfunction, substance abuse and domestic violence.

As part of the solution, the staff at the Crisis Centre concentrate on numerous programs, including Family Violence and Abuse Programming and Children Exposed to Violence Programming. A more recent program is called FIRST (Family Intervention Rapid Support Team), which is designed to build relationships and create an intervention plan for family to deter projected trauma or distress. This is vitally important during Domestic Violence Awareness Month and all year long.

No matter what the weather holds, Darlene plans to be outside of the Co-op food store on October 20, handing out bookmarks, information about brain injury and contact information, as well as accepting shelter donations.

In recognition of Purple Thursday, everyone is invited to wear purple, a simple and meaningful way to raise awareness about domestic violence. Purple is a colour that has long been used by women seeking justice, which is appropriate since women are the primary victims of domestic violence.

October 20 offers an opportunity to start a conversation and be a voice, standing with survivors of domestic violence while helping to reduce the stigma survivors face in getting the support they need to heal. Domestic violence continues to be a profound and pervasive social and public health crisis and is a leading cause of homelessness for women, youth and families.

Communities are welcome to find creative ways to promote Purple Thursday. National President of CRP, Sandi Loughheed, said, “Some of our communities are painting door knobs purple, hanging purple banners and one junior hockey team will be taping their sticks with purple tape.” Faith communities could select a Saturday or Sunday during the month to wear purple for the day. “It’s amazing to see the excitement when schools, businesses and organizations join together to support an important cause,” Lougheed said.

Canadian Royal Purple is a proud supporter of Purple Thursday. So, Kindersley residents, be sure to visit Darlene in front of the Co-op on October 20. More importantly, every community is invited to show their support by wearing purple.