Vancouver Island non-profit calls for more support for women with brain injuries from violent partners
Vancouver Island non-profit calls for more support for women with brain injuries from violent partners
A Vancouver Island non-profit is calling for more support for women who suffer a brain injury at the hands of a violent partner.
The Cridge Centre for the Family provides care for about 70 women fleeing an abusive partner each year through its 46 units of housing.
According to statistics on the non-profit’s website, one in three women will experience intimate partner violence, and of those women, 92 per cent will suffer at least one brain injury. That works out to over 200,000 women a year.
Candace Stretch, manager of supportive housing and family services for the Cridge Centre for the Family, said brain injuries can lead to daily challenges with things like memory and organization.
The staff that work with brain injury survivors have seen those kinds of issues lead to bigger problems.
“The Ministry of Children and Family Development gets involved because they’re having issues getting their kids to school,” said Measha Gallagher, intimate partner violence brain injury programmer for the Cridge Centre for the Family.
“I think most of our street population of women have brain injuries. I think most of our women that experience addiction issues probably have brain injury,” said Stretch.
Through its 20 spaces for its donor-funded intimate partner violence and brain injury service, the Cridge Centre has been offering supports for the last few years to stop women from falling through the cracks.
“We know that early intervention with brain injuries is important because we want to be able to help folks repave the way and the paths in the brains to be able to do the tasks that may be impacted,” said Gallagher.
Staff say no two brain injuries are alike and the support given to survivors in the program to help them recover is based on the individual’s needs.
The housing where this work is taking place is not always adequate, since some women’s injuries have left them with physical disabilities or unable to climb stairs where the bedroom or washroom are.
The Cridge also runs Macdonald House in Saanich’s Strawberry Vale neighbourhood, which cares for men with brain injuries. That facility has 10 bedrooms on one floor, with wide halls and doorways. It was purpose-built in 1991.
With more than 30 years of experience in treating brain injury survivors, staff have learned a lot about helping them recover and how to make the most of their lives.
“Without that support when they need it, they’ll fall through the cracks and sadly be part of the difficulties we’re seeing with our homeless population,” said Geoffrey Sing, manager of brain injury programs for the Cridge Centre for the Family.
“So we give them a safe home, meals are provided for them, life skills are provided and the support and encouragement to move on to a more independent lifestyle.”
It’s similar to what the centre would like to see built for women.
“If we had a residential facility for women, I think what that would mean for us is that we could welcome women into our program and we would know we could have a continuum of care that suits their needs,” said Stretch.
Island Health says it plans to make announcement soon on supportive services for people living with brain injuries – including women.
At the moment, wildfires are burning across six provinces and one territory in Canada — and they’re still spreading in what’s being called an unprecedented fire season. While firefighters work tirelessly to battle the merciless flames and prevent further destruction, scientists say the wildfires are linked to climate change and that this will be the new normal.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he raised concerns about reports that LGBTQ2S+ rights and democracy are under threat in Poland during a Friday visit with its prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, in Toronto.
Air Canada says travellers should be prepared for further flight disruptions as it works to return service to normal following a technical malfunction Thursday.
As more Canadians pass their family cottages down to the next generation, 'major shifts' in the ownership of recreational homes will occur, according to Re/Max. But amid concerns around the cost of housing, some may be wondering whether they can afford to keep that family cottage. Here's what younger generations need to know about inheriting a recreational property and the market today.
A 38-year-old sergeant in the Canadian Army was fined $3,000 and issued a severe reprimand after he made what a military judge described as 'utterly disgusting' anti-Jewish comments while conducting an infantry training course in 2021.
Pierre Poilievre is off to Manitoba to rally Conservative supporters ahead of a byelection that Maxime Bernier is hoping will send him back to Parliament. The far-right People's Party of Canada leader lost his Quebec seat in the 2019 federal vote and lost again in the 2021 election.
The number of people in Canada with inflammatory bowel disease is increasing rapidly and is expected to grow to 470,000 by 2035, according to a new report from Crohn's and Colitis Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is committed to keeping David Johnston in place as Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference, despite a majority of MPs voting in favour of his stepping down from the gig.
Three Toronto men have been charged with attempted murder after they allegedly shot an innocent dog walker in Schomberg, Ont. in a case of mistaken identity.
A dozen sheriffs and Calgary Police officers roamed Calgary's core for three months, but the provincial pilot program is officially over as of this week.
A Calgary father and son face a lengthy list of criminal charges after being arrested in connection with the sexual exploitation, assault and extortion of multiple teen girls.
Planning to pass time in Montreal's many parks this summer? Check yourself for ticks, warns one woman who recently contracted Lyme disease. Jasmine Rochereul, 23, says she spent much of last summer sprawled in city parks, where she believes she picked up the tick-borne illness.
A bronze statue of Queen Elizabeth that was toppled and damaged by protesters two years ago was put back in its place Friday on the grounds of the Manitoba legislature after a lengthy set of repairs.
The Weyburn Police Service (WPS) says it has charged a 27-year-old woman following the theft of several "high-powered" firearms and a large amount of ammunition from a residence in nearby Yellow Grass.
Police charged three men, believed to be members of a street gang, with the attempted murder of a 65-year-old man who was shot 13 times while walking his dog in Schomberg in February.
There will be a lot of music, revelry and fun in downtown Sudbury on Friday evening as the Downtown Sudbury Business Improvement Association launches its 'Ultimate Summer Kick-Off' Party. For many, it also marks the unofficial start to patio season.
A popular beach in Bracebridge is open to the public two days after sewing needles were found in the water, but a second beach has since closed over safety concerns.
