Global Edmonton’s annual campaign to help hundreds of women and children who are escaping domestic violence launched on Sunday.
The “Give Me Shelter” campaign raises basic needs like clothing and toiletries as well as Christmas gifts to five women’s shelters: Win House, WINGS, A Safe Place, LaSalle Residence and Lurana Shelter.
“I think it’s really hard for people to be away from the rest of their families and celebrating the holidays in a strange place and with strangers,” the Lurana Shelter Society’s executive director Liza Sunley said.
The Lurana Shelter has been a beneficiary of the campaign since Give Me Shelter started in 2004.
“Women and children who experience violence, like our clients, are often made to feel like they have no value,” Sunley said. “When we’re able to tell them that these gifts have been donated to you from strangers who care about you and who think that you have value and worth, they’re so touched.”
WATCH: Give Me Shelter Campaign
Lurana is an emergency shelter in Edmonton that helps nearly 550 women and children per year escape domestic violence.
According to the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters’ (ACWS) Annual Provincial Shelter data, between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016, 5,032 women and 4,682 children were admitted to Alberta emergency shelters. That same report said 8,076 women and 8,283 children were turned away from ACWS member shelters due to a lack of capacity.
The Give Me Shelter campaign was started by former Global Edmonton news anchor Lynda Steele in 2004.
Watch below: Gord Steinke speaks with Lynda Steele who start Global Edmonton’s Give Me Shelter campaign 13 years ago. The campaign is aimed at helping families who are escaping domestic violence during the holidays.
“It really hit me that there are people who are fleeing abuse who are in a situation where they are out of their homes at Christmas time,” Steele, who now works for CKNW radio in Vancouver, said. “It was a perfect way to connect Global News with the community with women and children in need and that’s how it all started.”
Steele said the campaign was a success from the very beginning.
“We didn’t normally talk about domestic violence and women’s shelters and the challenges around it, so this was an opportunity to bring awareness to the problem,” Steele said. “We were talking about it making people aware that domestic violence is an issue in Edmonton and we all can do our small part to try to help the people who are affected.”
Here’s a list of items Give Me Shelter is looking for people to donate:
- gift cards; (iTunes, clothing stores, department stores etc.)
- adult colouring books;
- pencil crayons;
- toiletries;
- new clothing;
- cosmetics;
- electronics;
- gifts for teenagers;
- toys.
Items can be dropped off at Global Edmonton (5325 Allard Way), until Dec. 19.
Comments