fcwc may newsletter.pdf
TRANSCRIPT
7/30/2019 FCWC May Newsletter.pdf
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Remembering Victims of HomicideCounselling Service hosts vigil-Republished from the Thompson Citizen April 24, 2013 edition
Lita Walker didn't know what
to expect on route to Winnipeg
back in October 2007, but within
a day her family was saying
goodbye to her brother, the
province's latest homicide victim.
"It was like my world ended
after hearing what happened,"
says Lita who missed what would
have been her last chance to speak
to her brother Lyle Walker.
Lita missed a call that Friday
from the 35-year-old who spent
most of his life in Nelson House.
The next evening he was attacked
outside a Winnipeg nightclub.
Lyle suffered a traumatic brain
injury and died in hospital two
days later.
Lita's suffering is common in
northern Manitoba according to
Jacqueline Walker, one of the
facilitators of a Homicide
Bereavement Group in
Thompson. The support group is
new to the city, and was
established by the
Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation
Family and Community Wellness
Centre after seeing a lack of
services for families of homicide
victims.
"Losing a loved one through
violence is a traumatic experience
because no one could ever be
prepared for that loss," says
Jacqueline who is also holding a
candlelit vigil for homicide victims
and their families as part of
National Victims of Crime
Awareness Week (April 21- 27).
The 8th annual Victims week will
be observed across Canada with
the goal of raising awareness
about issues facing victims and
their families.
Shelley Briem experienced
that lack of counselling services
after losing her son Keith
Anthony Woodman in 2009.
Woodman was murdered during a
home invasion in Leaf Rapids,
and two years later Briem sought
counselling after having to listen
to the details of the attack in
court. She says there was only one
NISICHAWAYASIHK
CREE NATION
F C W C N E W S L E T T E R
M a y 2 0 1 3
FAMILY & COMMUNITY WELLNESS CENTRE
Bev Brightnose at the vigilfor families of homicide
victims.
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and barbecue
Ma 21- 24
Community Cleanup
Barbecue runs May 2
12:00-3:00 p.m
at the FCWC
Our staff participatedin Earth Day byhelping clean aroundthe office. Now it’syour turn to help keepour communitybeautiful.Public Works(484-2597) will pick upall the waste youcollect at the cost of
$1.00 per garbage bagContact our Community HealthReps Myrna Dumas,Mervin Linklater or Lorraine Linklater at(204) 484-2341 for more information.
Garbage bagsand gloves areavailable for
pick-up at the Public Health
Department
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counsellor in Thompson at the time.
"You have to book counselling before an
incident happens just to be sure you have a spot
with that counsellor. You almost have to anticipate
losing someone," she says.
Briem began travelling to Winnipeg to attend
sessions through the province’s Victim Services
Branch. Still, she says the travel and process is
frustrating for someone who is still grieving. One
thing that is helping, is the Homicide BereavementGroup, which is halfway through a 12-week session
with families of homicide victims.
"Participants in the support group are helping
one another by sharing their
experiences and insights and by
allowing others to do the same," says
Jacqueline. "The common bond is the
unique grief we all share."
"This is different because it's a
violent act," says Briem who still sheds
tears when asked about her son. "With
Keith it was a hands-on act. It was
intentional with purpose to harm."For Lita, she’s accepted the loss,
even though it was once difficult
knowing Lyle’s killer was still free. She
wrote one last letter to her brother and
began singing with a choir at
memorial services, helping others deal
with their loss. Her family still puts out
a plate of food for Lyle during
gatherings or holidays. But as
heartbreaking as his missing presence
is, Lita advises people to never stop
talking about their loved one.
"He was hilarious, you can say he was like a
Jack Tripper," she laughs, referring to the expressive
Three's Company character. "That's the kind of
person my brother was. He meant a lot to me."
"You have to book counselling before
an incident happens just to be sure you
have a spot with that counsellor. You
almost have to anticipate losing
someone," she says.
-Shelley Briem
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TOP:Olive and Stew Daymake a presentationto the HomicideBereavement Groupabout the life of theirson Jay Sin Nunn, away for clients toshare the person’s liferather than their death.
LEFT:Shelley Briem holds apicture of her son
Keith AnthonyWoodman who died in2009 during a homeinvasion in the town of Leaf Rapids. Briembrought the samephoto with hereveryday during thetrial for the murder of her son.
RIGHTSpritual leader Ed
Azure listens during asupport groupmeeting.
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In photos:
Left: April 24 also marks the two-year death anniversary of Jay
Sin Nunn who was murdered outside the Juniper Centre in
Thompson. Right: Hilda Fitzer spoke to the crowd on behalf of
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak.
The NCN Family and Community Wellness Centre held a
candlelight vigil on Wednesday April 24 outside Robin’s
Donuts in Thompson. The family of victims, dignitaries and
members of the public and media attended the event.
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Clockwise : Chief Jerry Primrose lights a candle during the
vigil, Thompson Mayor Tim Johnston consoles a family member
who lost someone to homicide and Andy Daniels and Tyler Craig perform after Daniels does the opening prayer.
A table of photos and memories honouring
victims of homicide.
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Step right up folks!Public Health Department holds Immunization Carnival
One-hundred children got their up-to-date
immunization shots during the Immunization
Carnival held by the Public Health Department on
April 25. Seven staff members (including three
nurses) worked at the clinic which drew 115 kids in
total. Staff said they were busy throughout the whole
carnival and gave their last immunization needle at
7 p.m.
“I was so thankful and grateful for all the
parents that came in and brought their kids and
were so patient,” says Lynda Wright, Head of Public
Health, “Things sometimes got hectic.”
But it wasn’t all needles throughout the day.
Children and their families were treated to games,
prizes and snacks. Wright says she’s thankful to all
the staff in the health department who worked as ateam to run the games, supply and hand out prizes
and even dress as clowns and cartoon characters.
The idea to hold an Immunization Carnival
came after Wright attending a workshop in February.
She says the event was a success for its first run at the
FCWC. The carnival also gave the department a
head start on their preschool aged children (four to
six) with 23 kids going through the clinic.
“Preschoolers usually fall behind because the
last needle they get is at 18-months-old,” says
Wright, “then they’re next scheduled needle isn’t
until they’re four to six-years-old. If you tell parents
when their child’s next needle is, they don’t
remember because it’s two or three years later.
There’s a big block and I think that’s where parents
tend to forget.”
Wright is thinking about expanding the event
next year, with the possibility of holding a two-year
carnival. Until then, she encourages those who
missed out to drop by the clinic.
“People can come in anytime, Monday to
Friday. You can either book an appointment or just
walk in. Our door is always open, and phone calls
are welcome. We want to do all we can to help bring
up our immunization rates.”
For more information about immunizationspeople can call the Public Health Department at the
FCWC at (204) 484-2341 ext. 2242 or 2252.
The first ImmunizationCarnival drew 115children from thecommunity into thePublic Health Clinic.
F C W C N E W
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Sunday May 4
NCN Family and Community
Wellness Centre
6:00 p.m.
Dancers
Anyone who is interested in
joining or forming a square
dancing group.
Volunteers are also needed to
help plan a two-day community
competition in August.
We want to make this an
annual event, but we need to
see that there are interested
dancers, volunteers,
instructors, musicians and
other participants.
CALLING ALL DANCERS
Square Dancing Meeting May 4
Rekindle your grandparents’ dance steps.
Our goal is to fundraise for a$10 000 payout to be distributed to all competitors.
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F C W C N E W
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In photos: Immunization Carnival
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Elders from the community completed the Police Academy
for Older Adults on April 25 at the Centre, after a three-day
workshop with Sergeant Robert Cooke, NCOIC Community
Police Services of the RCMP D Division. The workshop is
meant to teach older adults how to live safe and healthy lives. It
includes topics such as identity theft, elder abuse, internet safety
and planning for the future.
Sgt. Cooke began the program in 2007 and has presented
to more than 70 communities since then. It’s only in the last
year that he’s planned and refocused the workshop to target
northern communities.
Originally, Sgt. Cooke wanted to customize the program to
fit Nelson House and other Aboriginal communities, but
instead he’s also using the opportunity as a learning experience
for himself.
“What I’m going to do is give the full presentation that we
give to every older adult across the province and then I will
learn from the elders in Nelson House what needs to be added
to it or changed throughout the process.”
Charlene Spence of the Counselling Services Department
says the RCMP contacted her because they wanted Nelson
House to be the pilot project for bringing this workshop into
remote communities. Spence says there are some topics that
don’t directly apply to Nelson House, like safety precautions for
apartments and other housing. But there are other sections of
the presentation she’s seeing a lot of interest in from the elders.
“I think it was really beneficial” says Spence. “We’re
already getting calls this morning about wills and estates. So
they’re talking about it. That was a big thing for them too;
when they pass and what should be done. They didn’t know
they could prepare themselves for that.”
Sgt. Cooke plans to return to Nelson House to sit down
with Spence and Constable Ryan Linklater, a member of the
local Detachment who assisted with translating some of the
Police Academy for Older AdultsRCMP workshop teaches elders to stay safe and healthy
F C W C N E W
S L E T T E R M a y 2 0 1 3
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topics presented from English to Cree.
The group will rewrite some of the
topics and tailer them to Aboriginal
communities.
Sgt. Cooke says there’s already a
few areas he believes need major
adjustments.
“Primarily with the area of frauds
and scams with the internet. There’s
some of it that does not really apply,but there’s some of it that applies in a
different way. I’d like to reinforce that
with things like payday loans.”
He also wants to beef up the
banking section to include things like a
Northern Store account card to make it
more relevant to the local community.
Sgt. Cooke ended with a
graduation to swear in all the elders
who completed the workshop.
People can download the resource
“Seniors Guidebook to Safety and
Security” at the following link:http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/pubs/
ccaps-spcca/pdf/seniors-aines-eng.pdf
or contact Counselling Services
Department at (204) 484-2341 ext 2293
or 2294.
F A S H I O N M
O N T H L Y M a y 2 0 1 3
14 Bay Road Drive Nelson House, MB R0B 1A0 Phone: (204) 484-2341 Fax: (204) 484-2351
NISICHAWAYASIHK CREE NATION
FAMILY & COMMUNITY WELLNESS CENTRE
About
The Family and Community Wellness
Centre was established to support
holistic wellness by providing different
opportunities to members of Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation. The
Centre provides services in Public
Health, Child and Family Services,
Counselling and other family and
community needs programs. It has sub-
offices in Winnipeg, Brandon,
Thompson and South Indian Lake.
Vision
Nisichawayasihk Mithwayawin
Mission
In unity, we promote community
awareness, empowerment, and a safe
environment towards holistic wellness.
***If you would like newsletters sent to
your email account, please send a
message with the subject “subscription”
“We’re already getting
calls this morning
about wills and
estates. So they’re
talking about it.”
Charlene Spence, Counselling
Services Department.
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Follow the little birdie.We’re on Twitter!
@FCWC3For the latest newsupdates & events
Or find us on Facebook for more information
about the NCN Family and Community
Wellness Centre.
NISICHAWAYASIHK
CREE
NATION
FAMILY & COMMUNITY WELLNESSCENTRE