As a beacon for support for vulnerable families in Cochrane and area, Big Hill Haven looks back on 2023 and their work on providing safe spaces for those experiencing instances of family violence in rural Alberta.
Executive Director for Big Hill Haven, Wanda McGinnis, said the organization was formed in 2016 by a group of women who were originally part of a book club.
After realizing a few of the members had experienced or were living in violent situations, they banded together to improve the safety of women and children in the community.
“They built this vision of Big Hill Haven as that organization, and by 2018 we’re offering outreach services to the community,” McGinnis said. “And that stayed that way until 2020, when they opened their first shelter space.”
McGinnis said the Haven provides outreach support to help connect families to support services in the community, emergency shelter services to provide safe spaces, and community engagement to educate and raise awareness in the community.
Since joining in 2022, McGinnis said the group launched a campaign to better make their presence known in the community.
“That was a high-priority move for us and we launched a huge public awareness campaign that included rack cards [and] information posters that we strategically partnered in the community with,” McGinnis said. “We want to work with people who are in unhealthy relationships, but we also want to build the capacity of people to develop and make sure that they’re in healthy relationships.”
McGinnis said that with the number of individuals experiencing family violence, there is always more work to be done.
“Last year we were able to support 1,270 nights of shelter, and those are all to local families,” McGinnis said. “So, in Cochrane and area, we’re nine months into our 12-month reporting cycle, and we’re already over 1,700 nights, so that’s a significant increase for us.
“That tells us families are living in unsafe situations and the more they know about how they can get support, the more willing they are to reach out.”
In addition, Big Hill Haven supported 101 adults and 72 children, while providing 62 outreach clients with 2,262 hours of supportive counselling.
The Haven also provided 24 emergency food hampers, 53 hours of child minding, $3,150 in emergency gift cards, and 675 hours of group work, including art therapy and therapeutic counselling.
McGinnis said in cases of family violence, it is important to ask for help before it is too late. A goal for the haven is to recognize these dangers before they take place.
“In our assessment we administer a tool called the Danger Assessment, and it’s a standardized tool that comes from John Hopkins University [that] measures your risk of being murdered by your partner,” McGinnis said.
With a noticeable increase of strangulation and use of weapons in physical altercations, McGinnis said this is an alarming trend that is not unique to Cochrane and area.
“One of the things that is unique to Cochrane and area is the rural perspective that leaves families, especially in rural properties, more isolated and [have] a higher likelihood of weapons like guns that can have a lethal outcome if they are in an assault,” she said. “So, our whole goal is to educate people who are in unhealthy relationships and provide them with safety, but to also educate the community about what family violence is and to reduce tolerance of it amongst all.”
Moving into the new year, McGinnis outlines that the Haven is committed to expanding their programing at a sustainable pace, provide outreach to reach as many people as possible, provide emergency shelter services with an eye to expand to transitional housing, continue public education and awareness campaigns, all while making their presence in the community known to all.
“We are committed to making sure that women and children are safe because we know that domestic violence is a gendered issue, and gender-based violence far outweighs the number of other demographics who might be experiencing family violence,” McGinnis said. “But we don't want to minimize the experience of men and others who are experiencing family violence who don't fit into those traditional women and children category.
“[…] We want to increase our ability to respond to newcomers and we also want to make sure that we're supporting our Indigenous families who need support and are reaching out as well.”
McGinnis said she would like to extend a special thanks to several organizations and groups who help support Big Hill Haven, and local supporters in the community including Cochrane Shoppers Drug Mart, Blue Bird Storage, Cochrane Rotary Club, and Royal Lepage Benchmark Cochrane.
For more information on Big Hill Haven and where to find support, please visit bighillhaven.com or by calling 403-796-6564.
