Annual Report 2012 - Women's Centre of Calgary

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We Made a Difference! The Women’s Centre gathers feedback from women who use the Centre, volunteers, Board members, and staff to inform our work. Feedback was collected throughout the year using a variety of tools. In 2012, we collected input from than 1,200 women. Here are some of our indicators of success: • 97% of women using the Centre report they feel safe at the Women’s Centre • 96% of women report they are treated with respect at the Women’s Centre • 87% of women report they feel they are given options when they come for assistance • 86% of women report feeling at home or a sense of belonging at the Women’s Centre • 84% of women said they increased their community involvement by being involved with the Centre In 2012, we responded to: • 58,632 contacts from women: 64% were made in person and 36% by phone and email. Women came in to the Centre to access our services 160 times every day. In addition, women phoned or emailed the Centre 85 times every day. In 2012, we served a diverse community of women: • 43% had a chronic health issue (e.g. mental health, a disability, or chronic disease) • 57% were single mothers; 66% were single • 59% were, or had been, in a violent relationship • 91% were dealing with poverty
April 2013 2012 Annual Report 3 15 Years of Support, Connections and Community At the Women’s Centre we work in three strategic areas-helping women to Get Assistance with basic needs; providing a safe space and opportunities for women to Connect With Others; and addressing underlying causes of poverty and supporting women to Work For Change. We offer trust-based services and look for ways to facilitate reciprocity so that all women may access assistance when they need it and offer assistance as they are able to. We provide a safe, accessible space in which we work to build equity and celebrate diversity. Get Assistance In order to meet overwhelming demands, we were forced in 2012 to streamline. We cut some of the places we made Basic Needs referrals. As a result, our contacts in this area were down slightly. At the same time, our time per contact increased by 18%, enabling us to spend more time with women. We continued to offer an array of referrals to other community agencies and to offer direct assistance with food, personal care supplies, Christmas and birthday gifts, bus tickets and grocery gift certificates. We provided Legal Advice Clinics, Commissioner of Oaths and tax services. We took messages, collected mail and provided access to phones, computers, printer, fax and photocopier. 2012-2013 Board of Directors (Standing left to right: Eileen Booth, Florence Omara, Janet Maaten, Carolyn Simpson, Roseline Carter, Rosemary Moore, Henri Giroux, Diane Altwasser, Beverly Frizzell, Denise Young. Seated left to right: Yvonne Schmitz, Nora Habafy, Cari Gulbrandsen) Connect with Others We worked to provide a safe and welcoming space for women from all walks of life to meet new people, learn new things and build community. We offered workshops and groups and had record attendance at events such as our Stampede Lunch and Feminist Walking Tour. We worked with more than a dozen other community organizations and unions to host a variety of International Women’s Day events. Work for Change We continued our work on women and poverty, participating in the Calgary Poverty Reduction Initiative and the provincial Social Policy Framework consultations. We researched and wrote a position paper on provincial poverty reduction and met with Calgary MLAs, Associate Ministers and Ministers. We also began the community development work leading up to a women’s gathering, Make One Change, which we will host Saturday, June 15, 2013. Twenty grassroots women’s groups will tell us about an issue impacting their lives and recommend a change which could improve their situations. Information about the gathering is available at www.womenscentrecalgary. org. Finally, after a long search we found a new home in Our vision: Women supporting communities, communities supporting women. Bridgeland. Overcrowding has been a serious issue at the Women’s Centre for a number of years. Our new location, which we will open in summer 2013, will almost double our space and allow us to focus on the future with the confidence that we can house our dreams. And we’re thrilled to be staying in the same neighbourhood! In 2012, our work was done by more than 580 active volunteers supported by 12 full-time and five relief staff. Our work is made possible by the generous support of our core funders the City of Calgary Family and Community Support Services and the United Way of Calgary and Area, as well as hundreds of individual, company and foundation donors.
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Annual Report 2012 - Women's Centre of Calgary

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