women voice next

In my opinion Alberta is far more advanced regarding help for abused women and their children.  Since I first arrived in Alberta, I have learned a great deal about why men abuse and why women stay.  I have learned about the effects on the whole family and how to begin to heal from the abuse.  I never spoke to anyone about my sexual abuse before I came here.  My self-esteem is slowly rising now, and so is my confidence.  It saddens me to realize the rest of Canada is so far behind in resources for battered women.  Even for families in general.  The shelters in Alberta have an abundance of resources and staff is always willing to find more.  If they don’t have an answer they will bend over backward to find it.  WINGS for me, has been a God-send.  It has provided me a safe place, both physically and emotionally to pull it all together and begin a positive journey to recovery.  With the help of my counselor and the wonderful staff here, I am starting to set realistic goals and learning to take it one day at a time.  For the first time in my life I feel safe, understood, helped along, and most of all like I have people around me who care about me!  I can’t begin to tell you how good it feels.  WINGS is the beginning of a long journey for me but I can’t think of a better place to begin!  Every abused woman and child should have WINGS.