Seven programs operate as part of the two societies and while they could be housed separately, it is a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.
Julie Chambers is executive director of both Powell River Community Services Association (PRCSA) and Powell River Transition House Society (PRTHS) .
It is helpful to have most of the programs under the same roof because of the synergy of offerings, she said.
Transition House Society supports programs for women and children who have experienced partner abuse. The programs and their coordinators are Grace House, Stopping the Violence Counselling with Quyn Lê Erichsen, Stopping the Violence Outreach with Maureen MacLennan and Children Who Witness Abuse with Jen Ramsay.
Community Services Association also supports victims through Specialized Victim Support Services with Pat Parsley, Police-Based Victim Services with Christine Schreiber and Poverty Law Advocacy with advocate Joyce Percey.
While the societies have different mandates, a synergy arises out of the coordinators’ informal collaborations. Both societies offer the community help in making positive changes to their lives.
MacLennan said her program works closely with Stopping the Violence, Grace House, and other related services to ensure that women and children are connected to relevant services in the community and receive the support they need.
Grace House is the only overnight facility for women and children fleeing abusive relationships. “When life is falling apart and a person is traumatized it’s hard to make good decisions,” said Chambers. “Grace House offers a safe place for women to calm down and make decisions.”
Children Who Witness Abuse is an intervention and prevention program created by BC Society of Transition Houses in the 1980s to address the need of children and youth, aged three to 18, who have been exposed to domestic violence. Ramsay provides counselling for children and youth, support for parents and presentations to the community.
“I work with children to help them with behavioural change and attitude,” said Ramsay. “Quite often we use play to build confidence and becoming more socially and academically successful in their lives.”
Ramsay also provides public education to help children and teens build communication skills and work to stem the intergenerational cycle of violence.
Schreiber’s Police-Based Victim Services program operates out of the police station and provides direct support services to crime and trauma victims and witnesses. “I do on-scene crisis intervention, so I’ll go out with the police officers for whatever the file may be, it does not have to be domestic,” said Schreiber. “A large amount of our files are sudden deaths.”
Specialized Victim Support Services is a community-based victim services program with a focus on domestic violence and sexual assault. Parsley offers emotional support and practical assistance, including guidance through the legal system.
“We’re trying to support clients because sometimes they can feel re-victimized going through that,” Parsley said. Parsley is also chair of Powell River’s Family Violence and Assault Committee. She added that the community is moving toward a much more collaborative model between the police, health care and government agencies.
There is a lot of help available in Powell River and even though the services described above are in different agencies, they work collaboratively in an informal way, said Chambers.
