MooseJawToday.com spoke to Jenn Angus, executive director of the Moose Jaw Transition House, about what the shelter does for the community and how valuable it is to have male-led support movements.
“We as women in the shelter were always planning each year’s White Ribbon Campaign, and that’s not how it’s supposed to work. The White Ribbon Campaign is by men, for men,” Angus explained.
“We have three men on our board of directors, and they are outstanding human beings. … So I said, ‘Could you guys do something?’ And this is where it’s evolved to. ”
The second annual “Men’s Night Out in the Cold” fundraiser for Transition House is taking place on Nov. 24, when 16 men from Moose Jaw will spend a night outside — 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. — in solidarity with women and girls fleeing violence.
Moose Jaw Express reporter Gordon Edgar has volunteered to be one of those men. The Moose Jaw Express is supporting the effort by accepting donations at our office at 468 High St. West.
To donate, call or email Gordon at gedgar@moosejawtoday.com, 306-694-1322, or go to Transition House’s website to donate online. If you donate online, let the Express know so we can track the total pledges.
“When we see this kind of community support, from men, women, anybody, it doesn’t just mean a lot to us as employees and staff here,” Angus added. “It means so much to the women that we’re supporting. Because it isn’t just raising money for our ongoing services, it’s raising awareness.
“It tells them that they’re not alone, that people care, and that this is an important issue.”
The contrast between now and 20 years ago, Angus noted, is huge. It used to be socially and culturally unacceptable to talk about domestic violence.
“It was a behind-closed-doors issue. We didn’t have these discussions, but now people are openly saying, ‘I stand against this,’ and they believe in it strongly enough to sleep outside for it.”
Transition House is a six-bedroom shelter that is usually full. At least 100 women and children seek safety there each year. The organization also operates a 24/7 crisis line which receives over 500 calls annually.
The Moose Jaw & District Chamber of Commerce recognized Transition House as their 2021 Group of the Year in February for their shelter, crisis line, outreach programs, counselling, and more.
“We are so much more than a shelter, we provide a lot of non-residential-based services,” Angus said. “We have emergency outreach, outreach counselling, a children’s program, a youth program, we have the FIRST program, which is the Family Intervention Rapid Support Team.
“Our outreach programs reach an additional 500-plus people each year. That means we’re supporting over 1,000 people in our community and region.”
The statistics are that every six days in Canada, a woman is killed by her intimate partner. Saskatchewan has had the highest rate of police-reported domestic violence in Canada’s provinces for at least as long as Angus has been the director at Transition House.
While progress is being made, the work is nowhere near done and nowhere near enough yet.
“Abuse is about power and control,” Angus said. “Psychological, financial, spiritual, physical, sexual … whatever type it is, it’s about power and control. Sometimes you hear, ‘Oh, he only does it when he’s drunk,’ and yes, alcohol may be a contributing factor, but it’s not causing it.”
Dominance and fear of weakness have been part of the sociocultural shaping of masculinity for thousands of years. As a result, most men have underdeveloped communication skills. They lack the necessary capacity to be vulnerable and emotionally expressive with their partners.
When tensions rise and disagreements proliferate, as they inevitably do in relationships, communication breaks down and these men abandon words, resorting instead to anger and violence. This becomes a lifelong habit — justified, rationalized, vicious, and completely unacceptable.
Be part of the solution by supporting the 16 Days of Activism, taking the White Ribbon Pledge, and/or donating to Transition House.
White Ribbons are available at:
- The Moose Jaw Express
- The Mad Greek
- The Crushed Can Rec Room & Bar
- Rosie’s on River Street
- Henderson Insurance
“One of the things we really stand by here at Transition House is that we believe in calling men in, not calling them out,” Angus said. “There’s so many phenomenal men who believe in supporting women. And this really highlights that.”
