Wynne talks with women at St. Thomas emergency shelter, during short southwestern Ontario tour

Premier Kathleen Wynne visited a women’s emergency shelter in St. Thomas Thursday, as part of a brief tour in southwestern Ontario.

Although she didn’t field questions from reporters about a public inquiry into the Elizabeth Wettlaufer case, the premier spent the noon-hour sitting down with clients at the Violence Against Women Services facility.

Media were unable to participate in the tour and private conversation. According to the Executive Director of the organization’s Elgin County branch, Liz Brown, women asked Wynne about affordable housing and shared emotional stories with the premier about escaping emotional, physical, and sexual violence.

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“It was beautiful, to be honest,” said Brown.

“One of the things we don’t always do so well in our world is hear the reality of that’s going on. So when we’re actually truly open to hearing that, you can see shoulders drop and the faces soften in the women telling the stories because they’ve been heard. They’ve been believed. And that in and of itself is a gift that truly travels many ripples of change.”

The facility officially opened its doors last fall, with community donations and a $1.93-million funding boost from the province’s Ministry of Community and Social Services to help it reach its $3.2-million fundraising target.

During a photo opportunity, Brown thanked Wynne for her commitment to helping create safe places for women to escape violence. In turn, Wynne thanked the people running the shelter for their hard work and dedication, noting its unique qualities as a purpose-built space.

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“I’m under no illusion that government creates a space like this. Communities do — individuals working together — create a space like this,” she said.

“The way you look after each other, I think we need to understand that… You’ve created a system here, where people can restore themselves and therefore they can be healthy in their own lives as well.”

Wynne made an unscheduled stop Thursday morning in Woodstock, where she visited local businesses and chatted with residents. After appearing in St. Thomas, the premier went on to Chatham. She’ll finish her tour tomorrow, in Windsor.