In the final episode of the Creating Communities of Care Podcast, we review what we’ve heard over the past five episodes. If there’s one thing that we’ve learned in this process, it’s that culturally-specific and community-based approaches to addressing gender-based violence show promising results that speak to a larger need for these types of programs to be more widely available.

There is a lot of work to do before the social problem of gender-based violence is fully addressed in our communities, but there is also a lot of hope.

Hope that we can learn from mistakes and successes alike to build better systems and structures that support all members of society equitably. Hope that the women who receive help today are likely to become the individuals helping others tomorrow. And finally, hope that examples like the one set by the Creating Communities of Care Project are followed by more people, organizations, and institutions.

We now know better, so it’s time to do better.

RESOURCES:

If you heard parts of your own story in this podcast, and are interested in learning more about the organizations mentioned in this episode, please refer to the following:

More about Creating Communities of Care

• https://creatingcommunities.ca/about-us/

Association of Black Social Workers:

• Contact or intake number/email: ccc@nsabsw.ca OR 902-407-8809
• Link to online intake portal: https://www.nsabsw.ca/contactus/

Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia:

• Contact or intake number/email: ed@efrymns.ca OR (902) 454-5041
• Link to online intake portal: https://www.efrymns.ca/copy-of-apply-for-legal-support (select creating communities of care) OR https://www.efrymns.ca/contact

Mi’kmaw Legal Support Network:

• Contact or intake number/email: 902-379-2042 OR 902-895-1141
• Link to online intake portal: www.MLSN.ca

Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre:

• Contact or intake number/email: contact@mymnfc.com OR denise@mymnfc.com OR 902-420-1576
• Link to online intake portal: https://mymnfc.com/2020/01/contact-mnfc/
  
  

In the fifth episode of the Creating Communities of Care Podcast, we finally dive deep into culturally-specific programming: what it is, what it means for program participants, and the promise it holds for a better, more inclusive future.

Each of the four partner organizations implement their own take on culturally-specific programming, borrowing from Afrocentric thinking and Indigenous customary law to deliver services that help make participants feel seen, heard, believed, and ultimately respected. The Mi’kmaq Legal Support Network’s sentencing circles are an example of this type of service delivery in action.

RESOURCES:

If you heard parts of your own story in this podcast, and are interested in learning more about the organizations mentioned in this episode, please refer to the following:

More about Creating Communities of Care

• https://creatingcommunities.ca/about-us/

Mi’kmaw Legal Support Network:

• Contact or intake number/email: 902-379-2042 OR 902-895-1141
• Link to online intake portal: www.MLSN.ca

Association of Black Social Workers:

• Contact or intake number/email: ccc@nsabsw.ca OR 902-407-8809
• Link to online intake portal: https://www.nsabsw.ca/contactus/

Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia:

• Contact or intake number/email: ed@efrymns.ca OR (902) 454-5041
• Link to online intake portal: https://www.efrymns.ca/copy-of-apply-for-legal-support (select creating communities of care) OR https://www.efrymns.ca/contact

Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre:

• Contact or intake number/email: contact@mymnfc.com OR denise@mymnfc.com OR 902-420-1576
• Link to online intake portal: https://mymnfc.com/2020/01/contact-mnfc/
  
  

In the fourth episode of the Creating Communities of Care Podcast, we take a step away from the busy streets of Halifax to investigate the Justice System and the troubling overrepresentation of Black and Indigenous women in provincial and federal prison admissions.

The Elizabeth Fry Society advocates for women involved in the Justice System. This advocacy looks different for each woman they work with, but what remains consistent is the organization’s commitment to their clients and to doing what’s right. In this episode we will hear how the Correctional Service of Canada treats women facing gender-based violence as equal participants in their partner’s abuse, often leading to their criminalization and eventual incarceration. But, we will also hear from the women who are working against these systems, and about the importance of hope when fighting a seemingly impossible fight.

RESOURCES:

If you heard parts of your own story in this podcast, and are interested in learning more about the organizations mentioned in this episode, please refer to the following:

More about Creating Communities of Care

• https://creatingcommunities.ca/about-us/

Association of Black Social Workers:

• Contact or intake number/email: ccc@nsabsw.ca OR 902-407-8809
• Link to online intake portal: https://www.nsabsw.ca/contactus/

Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia:

• Contact or intake number/email: ed@efrymns.ca OR (902) 454-5041
• Link to online intake portal: https://www.efrymns.ca/copy-of-apply-for-legal-support (select creating communities of care) OR https://www.efrymns.ca/contact

Mi’kmaw Legal Support Network:

• Contact or intake number/email: 902-379-2042 OR 902-895-1141
• Link to online intake portal: www.MLSN.ca

Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre:

• Contact or intake number/email: contact@mymnfc.com OR denise@mymnfc.com OR 902-420-1576
• Link to online intake portal: https://mymnfc.com/2020/01/contact-mnfc/