One in twelve seniors in British Columbia experience abuse and mistreatment by a spouse or partner, family member, caregiver, friend or trusted individual.

June 15 marks World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) and acknowledges the significance of elder abuse as a public health and human rights issue.

PHYSICAL OR SEXUAL ABUSE | Unexplained injuries | Signs of restraint | Intimidation through weapon play | Torn clothes

BEHAVIOURAL ABUSE | Coercive conduct between the person and suspected perpetrator, e.g., the person is fearful, withdrawn, sad, isolated | Suspected abuser is reluctant to leave the person alone with professionals

FINANCIAL ABUSE | Taking money from a joint account without permission | Fraud, scams, identity theft | Persuading a person to withdraw money for another person’s benefit | Misuse of power of attorney | Forcing a person to change legal documents

Through our Second/Third Stage Transitional Housing and specialized programs, Victoria Women's Transition House continues to support older women who have survived abuse through counselling and outreach.

Read our handout to learn more or visit Seniors First BC for support, resources and a fact sheet about older adult abuse and neglect, available in English, French and Persian.

To mark the awareness day, Transition House staff will participate in an educational workshop at the SHOAL Centre for Seniors in Sidney on June 15. VWTH offers virtual and in-person community education workshops that focus on awareness of older adult abuse and neglect. For more information or to book a workshop, email us at info@vwth.bc.ca

We acknowledge the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and girls (MMIWG) held on May 5. Individuals, families and communities across North America display red dresses to recognize, remember and honour missing and murdered indigenous women, girls and two-spirit (MMIWG2S) people. The day also aims to raise awareness to minimize the overrepresentation of Indigenous women and girls as victims of intimate partner violence and homicide.

Read the Final Report of the National Inquiry into MMIWG. To learn how you can support ongoing initiatives, visit the 100 Red dress project.

On May 9, our Shelter was abuzz with energy in celebration of Mother's Day. Kids and youth were excited to create personalized bath salt gifts for their mothers at the Emergency Shelter. Thanks to our children's counsellor for leading this exciting activity! Staff also prepared and shared self-care gifts which included beautiful tulips and a culinary herb garden kit, generously donated by an in-kind donor.

Thank you to everyone who attended our second PEACE/Children Who Witness Abuse webinar titled Recognizing and Responding to Stress in the Home.

The May 31 session saw parents, caregivers and professionals engage in a facilitated conversation with PEACE counsellors on ways to respond to stressors and support children who have witnessed abuse in the home.

Keep an eye out on our social media for information on our next webinar. The webinars are free to attend and registration is not required.

Support is always available. Contact the VWTH Crisis & Information Line at 250.385.6611 or the Kids Help Phone at 1.800.668.6868, both are open 24/7. Concerned family and friends, as well as professionals, can also call.

A big thank you to South Island Farm Hub for hosting a second personal care item drive for Transition House in April and to the FED Urban Agriculture Society. FED is a non-profit working to address food security in southern Vancouver Island by promoting sustainable food systems and enhancing community engagement and has pledged to donate 50 gro-bag planters, seedlings, and soil to Transition House.

Karlee Grant is the senior program manager and Victoria Women’s Transition House’s Charity Champion for the 10th Annual Victoria Goddess Run. With just a few days until the run day on June 4, we asked Karlee a few questions about her training journey.

Karlee is participating in the Victoria Goddess Run to raise funds for VWTH’s programs and services that support women and children impacted by intimate partner violence and abuse. Click here to help Karlee reach and surpass her fundraising goal! Thank you.

On Saturday, June 4, Karlee will join thousands of Goddesses to run or walk in support of one of three chosen Victoria Goddess Run Charities of Choice.

June is National Indigenous History Month. Throughout the month, we can take time to learn more about First Nations, Inuit and Métis history and culture and celebrate and honour their contributions to the lands we today know as Canada. Visit the Government of Canada's National Indigenous History Month page to learn more about Indigenous history and trailblazers, the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and advancing reconciliation.

Tune into APTN's Indigenous Day Live 2022 on June 18 for a powerful celebration and showcase of Indigenous Peoples’ artistic and cultural achievements. On June 21, everyone is invited to join National Indigenous Peoples Day (NIPD) celebrations at the beautiful Royal Roads campus, located on the Lands of the Xwsepsum (Esquimalt) and Lekwungen (Songhees) ancestors and families.

June 19—Father's Day

Happy Father’s Day to all fathers and father figures, grandfathers, uncles and brothers who foster relationships of respect and equality, healing and learning, free of gender-based violence and abuse. VWTH is proud to be supported by countless men and boys who help our mission and raise awareness to take a stand and work to break the intergenerational cycle of intimate partner violence and abuse.

June is Pride Month and communities globally unite to celebrate and support 2SLGBTQIA+ visibility and equity. A number of events are organized throughout the month. Visit the Victoria Pride Society for a list of signature Pride Week festival events taking place from June 23 to July 2.

Pride Festival in the Park is a free, multifaceted queer-themed event with a family-friendly festive atmosphere with music, fun activities, a bouncy castle, drag storytime and more. Later in the day, the festival transitions into an afternoon of music, dance, live bands and some of the best drag talents in Canada. We hope to see you there.

The Huntingdon Manor Hotel is excited to bring back its annual Pancake Breakfast Celebration on Canada Day!

July 1, 2022, 08:00 am–11:00 am

May 15–21, 2022 was Victims and Survivors of Crime Week. Every year, VWTH participates in the campaign to help raise awareness of the prevalence and impacts of intimate partner violence and abuse, offer tools on how the community can support survivors and share information about resources available to women and children escaping abusive situations.

Thank you, Department of Justice Canada, for support of our 2022 Crime Week Awareness Campaign, which also included funding 14 bus back posters on local routes across Victoria, from Sooke to Sidney.

Our thanks to Peninsula Co-op and Harbourside Rotary for their generosity in support of our upcoming PEACE Camps and the Province of British Columbia’s Civil Forfeiture Crime Prevention and Remediation Grant Program for their kind support of our Family Law Advocacy Program.

Sincere thanks to the District of Oak Bay for generously supporting Turning the Tide: A Program for Older Women Survivors of Domestic Abuse.

A big thank you to staff and 12 students from Claremont Secondary School who cooked and safely packaged litres of delicious soup for our Emergency Shelter and Second/Third Stage Housing Programs. The initiative was organized by five students from the Pursuit of Excellence Program 10 leadership group at Claremont Secondary School. Thank you to Country Grocer who thoughtfully donated the ingredients for the soup.

A big thank you to Gillian from Usborne Books for organizing a book fundraising project for VWTH's PEACE/Children Who Witness Abuse Program. Counsellors from the team had the opportunity to handpick a selection of books to add into circulation as part of their programming.

We are also so grateful for the donation of 11 Indigenous Children's books from School District 61. The books have been added to our Children's activity area at our Emergency Shelter. We are certain that many children and families will enjoy the new books for years to come.

A big thank you to Saanich Baptist Church volunteers for giving their time to help sort and organize storage space at our Second/Third Stage Transitional Housing Program site as part of the Serve the City initiative.

Thank you to the Shoppers Drug Mart teams at the Fort Street; Esquimalt, Uptown Centre; Hillside Shopping Centre; Royal Oak and corporate store location in Victoria and the Saanichton and West Shore location in Langford, who as part of the 2021 #SHOPPERSLOVEYOU Campaign, raised over $15,000 in support of Transition House programs.

Click here to read updates about our programs and initiatives in our Spring Newsletter.

It is with much respect to the Lkwungen and SENĆOŦEN speaking peoples of the WSÁNEĆ, Esquimalt, and Songhees Nations, on whose traditional territories the Victoria Women’s Transition House Society is located, that we make this acknowledgment with the expressed shared hope to live in communities free of intimate partner violence.