Guys, it’s not even April yet and Winnipeg is having a rough year. Out of 7 homicides, 3 are victims of domestic violence. The latest death occurred last weekend in the form of a murder suicide. The couple was new to Canada. She was 28 years old. Their 3 year old daughter was there and may have been alone for up to 24 hours. It’s a horrific story that a lot of us are getting numb to, or at least I am. Why? Because this murder basically happened around the same time that the City of Winnipeg decided to deny funding to Osborne House, a crisis shelter for women and children who are victims of domestic violence. The shelter has seen a 75% drop in donations recently and $450,000 is apparently too much to ask from a city that loves to frivolously spend.
Keeping in mind that all of our services and fees have been steadily rising and our property taxes will be increasing….even though the mayor said in the last race that the idea was ridiculous (lol, Sam Katz, you’re a fucking liar….and you kick children in the face).
There seems to be money for a new stadium for a CFL team in an awkward spot. They seem dead set on building an essentially useless rapid transit corridor that’s going to be used by a very specific subset of people (and they tried hiking bus fare up so everyone would enjoy the cost without the use!). Not to mention money for those weird accordion buses that we probably didn’t need. Of course, they’re always like “MOAR COPS!!” too, because that is totally proven to solve all problems.
It’s hilarious, because the road I live on is in ridiculous need of fixing and has since before I moved on it. The streets are still dirty from the thaw. But I bet even that will be a higher priority than the second oldest shelter in Canada. The potholes will win above women, but we’ll be damned if that newfangled stadium isn’t up and running on time! Wouldn’t wanna disappoint the Bombers and their precious fans! Or let’s donate money to our “Human Rights Museum” which looks like a giant spiked boob right next to our penis bridge while ignoring the abuses in our own backyard! PRIORITIES!!
Look, I’m just going to say it. Sam Katz and most of the people in city hall don’t care about women. It’s harshing the city’s image a little too much to be caring about victims of violence over the NHL team or the other stupid pet projects, and lord knows they don’t actually want to deal with it. They’re too busy trying to make Winnipeg look like a classy place to be.
The good news is that the province itself appears to be stepping up. So are the regular citizens. Many have been starting to organize these things called socials (normally a tasteless cash grabs for engaged people…”hey, I haven’t seen you much or anything, but please pay $10 and spend ridiculous amounts of money at an overblown party I’m throwing so that I’m more comfortable with how much money I’m spending on my wedding!! There will be tacky music and the usual spread of stale bread, greasy cheese, and disgusting cheap sandwich meats!!) to raise money for the shelter. Obviously this is a social I can get behind and hope to attend with several friends in tow.
For those who are able to, I encourage you to attend. The information for one of them is associated with the link in the above paragraph. If you cannot attend but are able to donate, their mailing address can be found here. If neither are an option? Feel free to tell mayor Sam Katz how you feel about it.
We need to start taking the problem seriously. Giving women a place to go is a good step.
Here in the US it is all “cut government spending! eleventy!!!” and I’m all “but government is spending money on things we NEED for our communities”. The whole point of government (in my mind) is to pool the resources (tax money) of the population and redistribute it for things that EVERYONE can benefit from (not just a select few, ie, the stadium).
There’s a correlation between choices for women victims of domestic violence and murder rates for men who abuse their partners. What I mean is that when women have a way out of violent and abusive relationships, like access to a shelter, then they don’t resort to the most extreme way out of an abusive relationship, which is murder her partner. Here’s a paper about that connection. http://www.econ.brown.edu/fac/anna_aizer/main_files/research_files/love_hate_murder.pdf
So, Winnipeg, you really do need your shelter, for your women, and for your men.
Same thing happened here (Saskatoon) with Tamara’s House – fed gov cut funding, bam! no home. Very short notice too.
(Off topic but interesting – I grew up in central south Saskatchewan and we didn’t have socials there. People I knew from Redvers area did though, although I think most of the ones they went to were in MB.)