April 2013 – Issue #100

IN THIS ISSUE:

*Volunteer Thank you

* Quote of the Month: Make Someone Happy

* THouse Stats – March 2013

* Board News

* Donations

* Poem: Count Your Blessings

* VWTHS Fundraiser – May 3rd.

* National Day of Mourning – April 28th

* ARTICLE: MOM’S PAMPER BREAK

* Program Highlight: Support to Young Parents

*Just For The Fun Of It.

* Funders – Thank You

We would like to thank all of our wonderful Volunteers

for doing such a great job on behalf of our clients and our Society.

If you wish to volunteer please contact

Shelly Esau

Phone: 250-542-1122

Email – Donation@vwts.ca

Funded by

Ministry of Housing and Social Development Gaming Policy & Enforcement Branch

Quote of the Month

Try to make at least one person happy every day, and then in ten years you may have made three thousand, six hundred and fifty people happy, or brightened a small town by your contribution to the fund of general enjoyment.

TRANSITION HOUSE SOCIETY STATS: *The graph above only shows the number of women & children who have sought refuge at our Transition House.*

In the month of MARCH 2013, ALL our Society’s programs (this includes our Community Based Programs) assisted a total of 149 Clients; 124 Adults and 25 Children.

The total clients who sot refuge at our Transition House over the past 12 months was 279; 176 Women, 97 Children and 6 Teens. The number of night stays at the Transition House for this period of time for these clients was 5,703 nights.

BOARD NEWS:

Our Regular Board Meeting

took place on Monday, April

22, 2013.

This was the first Board Meeting for our

new Executive Director, Ninke Beeksma.

The Directors were pleased to hear that

the transition has gone smoothly.

Preparations have begun regarding the

Annual General Meeting. It will take

place on Tuesday, June 25th. The venue

has not been decided as yet. A notice

will go out to our Society Members and

be placed in the newspaper once the

decision is made.

“Domestic violence does not only happen to adults. Forty percent of girls age 14 to 17

report knowing someone their

age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend, and

approximately one in five female high school students

reports being physically and/or sexually abused by a

dating partner.” -- Dianne Feinstein

DONATIONS

All donations to the Transition House are greatly appreciated and are an important part

of our service for clients.

If you have a household item you wish to donate, please contact our Transition House

directly.

Phone: 250-542-1122

The Vernon Women’s Transition House Society will no longer be accepting clothing donations, as we are now using our limited storage space for household items which our clients have a more difficult time acquiring in the community than clothing. If we have clients that need clothing, we will be directing them to the Vernon Alliance Church Arbor, so you may want to consider donating your clothes there.

DEFINITION

SWEATER, n: Garment worn by child when it’s

mother is feeling chilly.

Ambrose Bierce

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS Author Unknown

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;

Count your gains instead of your losses. Count your joys instead of your woes;

Count your friends instead of your foes.

Count your smiles instead of your tears; Count your courage instead of your fears. Count your full years instead of your lean;

Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.

Count your health instead of your wealth; Love your neighbor as much as yourself.

SUNDAY, MAY 12th IS

MOTHER’S DAY…

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the

dedicated hard working mothers!

Every Mother is a Working Woman…

APRIL 28th

National Day of Mourning

Wynn Hartfelder, Outreach Worker

for Vernon Women’s Transition

House Society (on the left)

attended the Day of Mourning

services held in Kelowna, BC. on

Friday, April 26th. 149 workers were

killed on the job in 2012.

Health and Safety is an issue that

needs to be recognized and

respected at every workplace. This

includes proper training and

orientation for young workers and

new employees.

MOM’S PAMPER BREAK Patricia Morgan 2002

Parents are the model of how to manage the adult years. We provide the example of how to be successful women or men and how to create and maintain healthy marriages and family life. We do ourselves and our children a disservice by poorly managing first by our self care responsibilities and second, if married, our primary love relationship. We need to take time out from children focused days to nurture our own identity separate from being Mom or Dad and also take time to cherish our main squeeze relationship. Dr. Phil McGraw once made an impactful comment on an episode of Oprah. He basically said that parents, particularly mothers who have a tendency to martyr for their families, have an obligation to take care of their children’s caregiver. As parents, we are duty-bound to spend adequate time tending to our own well being. Not only is it not selfish, it is essential for our physical, mental and emotional health. It is impossible to pour from an empty teapot. If the caregiver stresses out or becomes ill, there is no one left to look after anyone. There are reams of beauty salons, spas, magazines, television shows and books steeped with ideas for self care, pampering and couple enrichment. Who has time to amass all this information? Here are some quick ideas:

SELF CARE BREAKS:

1. Write “Self Care Break” into your day

timer and keep the commitment. 2. Do something each day to nurture yourself

physically (take a walk), mentally (read the paper), emotionally (call a friend) and spiritually (meditate). Do your chosen activity for a few minutes or much longer.

3. Create a personal and special space, even if it is a window sill, where we can come back to ourselves.

4. Nap when you can. Research studies report that napping increases energy and focus.

5. Transform self care routines into mini breaks. Take a long appreciative breath when you taste or smell something you like.

6. Let nature give you a break from your fast paced living… take off your shoes and feel the earth beneath your feet.

7. Let the answering machine attend to messages.

8. Daydream, write a journal, or soak in a bubble bath.

9. Trade child care with a friend or pay for child care to free up time for self care.

CASIMIR COURT

SUPPORT TO YOUNG PARENTS PROGRAM

Pregnancy and Parenting Support for young

mothers and their children.

CONTACT: 250-549-2887

Funded by

The Ministry of Children & Family Development

The Support to Young Parents Program provides affordable housing and

support to pregnant and parenting teens and young women (ages 15-24).

The services include:

• One or two bedroom apartment with affordable rent.

• Free utilities, laundry and cable.

• Security system and monitoring.

• Furniture and household items are available on a limited basis.

Services we offer:

• Life skills groups (budgeting, nutrition, cooking, shopping etc.)

• Parenting support and information

• Personal growth groups, (self esteem, relationships, addictions etc.)

• Responsive to cultural identity needs.

• On-site support from Public Health, Mother Goose, Literacy Support,

Addictions and Mental health Counsellors, etc.

• Supportive counselling from onsite staff.

• Peer support and recreational opportunities.

Referral Process:

1. Phone Program staff at 250-549-2887.

2. Tour the program (bring a parent or friend, if you wish).

3. If you are interested, a meeting will be held with the staff, your social

worker (if you have one) and you.

4. You may be placed on a waitlist.

5. Arrangements will be made with income assistance for rental support.

Support to Young Parents Staff can help you find other

Where does the towel end

and the dog begin?

Thank You to Our Funders

BC Housing

Ministry of Housing & Social Development –

(Gaming Policy & Enforcement Branch)

Ministry for Children & Family Development

Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General

BC Law Foundation

Our Society Members

And

To the members of our community who have

donated so generously to our Society.

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together

Erma Bombeck