The annual report summarizes the activities of Amelia Rising Sexual Assault Centre of Nipissing in 2011. Key highlights include being nominated for an Award of Distinction from the Ministry of the Attorney General, commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Victims' Bill of Rights, and continuing to provide counselling and crisis response services to women in the community while working to reduce wait times. The report also recognizes the important contributions of volunteers and clients in helping the organization fulfill its mission.
1. AMELIA RISING SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTRE OF NIPISSING
HELPING WOMEN RISE UP
ANNUAL REPORT 2011
2. Helping women rise up
Amelia Rising Board of Directors
April Leblanc, Chair
Teri Solomon Gravel, Secretary
Carrie Trownson, Treasurer
Siobhan O’Leary, Member
Andrea Jones, Member
Kelly Gillard, Member
Jessica Beaton, Member
Kat Jodouin, Member
I have been on the board of directors for almost three
years now, during this short period of time I have met
some wonderful people. When I first joined I had no idea
what Amelia meant to me, all I knew was that if I was
going to volunteer my time to an organization this looked
like a great place to start. Little did I know that my efforts
to help Amelia grow would pale in comparison to the
personal growth Amelia gave me. I have become a more
caring, compassionate, and dedicated individual. When I
walk into the centre it gives me a sense of belonging, it is
my pleasure to help any woman rise up as Amelia has so
graciously done for me.
Regards,
April Leblanc, Chair
Amelia Rising Staff
Patty Chabbert, Executive Director
Suzanne Boyer, Bilingual Outreach CounSELlor
Nancy Chivers, CounSELlor
Meghan Walsh, Volunteer Coordinator
Candice Bottle, Funds/Financial Development Coordinator
Laury Steppacher, Office Administrator
Laura Hokstad, Interim Volunteer Coordinator
Amelia Rising Sexual Assault
Centre of Nipissing
101 Worthington Street East, Suite 11
North Bay, Ontario P1B 1G5
Office: (705) 840-2403
Fax: (705) 840-5050
www.ameliarising.ca
2 AMELIA RISING SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTRE OF NIPISSING ANNUAL REPORT 2011
3. Who is this Amelia anyway? I hear this question often at Amelia Rising Sexual Assault
Centre of Nipissing. The question makes sense, it comes from this desire to connect the
work of our organization with lived experiences of a real person. After telling people the
true origin of the name, that it comes from the French verb ameliorer – to rise up and be
better – I often see a look of surprise that Amelia Rising was not a person, and after a quick
moment of thought we move on to other topics.
I soon came to realize however, that we have many Amelias and each has her story. Some
have lived with poverty, some struggled through the twists and turns of the ‘mental health’
system, and some have yet to voice their story when they walk through the doors of our centre.
We hope the following pages will help you walk a mile in our clients’, volunteers’ and staff’s
shoes, and help you see the work of our centre. We have had many accomplishments
over the past year, which has been twelve months of enthusiasm, passion, and really hard
work. I have been pleased to share in the work and I am proud to share in reflecting on
our accomplishments. While all accomplishments are important, I would like to highlight a
few, including our recent Nomination for an Award of Distinction from the Ministry of the
Attorney General in the category of Innovative Programming, our letters of recognition
from both the Minister of Justice and the Ministry of the Attorney General for our work on
the Victims’ Bill of Rights Commemoration Ceremony, and my all-time favorite: supporting
Josie, an amazing survivor, to share her moving story with hundreds of people.
Moving forward we will continue to help women rise up. We are looking forward to launching
our new and improved strategic and financial plans. We would like to also maintain our
commitment to our core services of crisis response (through crisis visits and our 24-hr
crisis line), and our individual and group counselling. And crucially, we acknowledge the
importance of and our commitment to French Language Services, and will continue to
improve the services we offer our Francophone clients.
I would like to take this moment to thank those that have so generously offered their
support and dedicated services – we all know that non-profit organizations could not do
all that they do without both the financial contributions and time commitments from those
in our community.
Helping women rise up.
Ameliore all Amelias!
Patty Chabbert
Message from
the Executive Director
3 AMELIA RISING SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTRE OF NIPISSING ANNUAL REPORT 2011
4. … the more they stay the same
Unfortunately, with sexual violence, the
need for the services Amelia Rising Sexual
Assault Centre of Nipissing provides is as
critical as it’s ever been.
However, the resiliency and energy of the
women we see every day inspires us, fills
us with hope and reassures us that given
sufficient support, women can rise up from
the harshest of circumstances.
The More Things Change...
MISSION
Since 1994, Amelia Rising has provided
individual and group counselling, crisis
services, public education and referral
services to women and children dealing
with sexual violence in the Nipissing area.
VISION
Our vision is a world where women and
children of all walks of life live free of sexual
violence and the threat of sexual violence.
CORE CRISIS RESPONSE SERVICES
Central to the services we offer at our
centre is our 24-hour crisis line, counselling
visits, 6 and 12-week counselling sessions
and group therapy. All of our groups
have waiting lists; our services are in high
demand in the very large catchment area
we serve.
Changing Attitudes, Changing
Lives: Ontario’s Sexual Violence
Action Plan came out this year.
We are excited to be operating
at last within a unified, cross-
provincial vision for services that
confront sexual violence and
violence against women. This
government vision will inform
our strategic planning as we
move ahead.
4 AMELIA RISING SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTRE OF NIPISSING ANNUAL REPORT 2011
5. Many visitors to our centre are not aware of
the full extent of our counselling program.
In addition to our 6 or 12 week counselling
services, we also have walk-in or by
appointment support visits available. We
also have our 16 week historical childhood
trauma group therapy, as well as two
ongoing workshops; healthy relationships
and healthy anger. We also offer advocacy,
accompaniment, and support for those
going through compensation hearings,
support filling out forms like the Criminal
Injuries Compensation Board forms, and
comprehensive referrals.
Over the course of the year, our counsellors
also develop information packages specific
to the unique needs of each client, which
can be upwards of 150 packages per year!
Between individual counselling, group
counselling, crisis visits and crisis calls, a
single counsellor will see upwards of 300
women! Our counsellor Nancy has been
with us for 16 years, thank you to her for all
the important work she does.
Counselling &
Crisis Response
Responding to a desperate,
long-standing need to reduce
wait list times for our services,
Amelia Rising conducted research
into the causes and potential
solutions to the problem of unmet
demand. The results of this pilot
project study will inform our next
three-year plan. They include
recognizing the need for full-
time hours for our counsellors,
and if possible, creating a new
full-time counselling position.
After all, the women who need
our services need them now!
Working to make that possible will
be a key task of the coming years.
5 AMELIA RISING SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTRE OF NIPISSING ANNUAL REPORT 2011
6. The Outreach Program has evolved over
the years to meet the needs of Amelia
Rising’s clients. In 1995 our Rural/Regional
ServicesDevelopmentStrategicPlan(1994-
1995) was launched, based on a needs
assessment of six target communities in
the District of Nipissing. The Rural and
Diverse Community Outreach Strategic
Plan followed in 2004, with an expanded
definition of diversity and a continued
focus on rural and remote communities.
Overall, the goals of both strategic plans
were to make Amelia Rising and our many
services more visible to women showing
increased rates of sexual violence, or to
women where travel, distance or isolation
may pose a challenge to reach our services.
Despite the challenges, we are committed
to ensuring all women of the vast Nipissing
district are informed and have equal access
to our services. Hence, we’re calling 2011
the year of “Out-Reach to In-Reach”. This
year we are increasing our core service
provision (counselling, support visits and
access to our crisis line) to diverse target
populations, and bringing more women
through our doors. Our outreach counsellor
Suzanne continues to step outside the box,
and we thank her for it.
OUR Key highlights...
EVE-olution 2011:
EVE-olution Evolving!
EVE-olution 2011 was a huge success!
Fifty women of all ages participated in
our evening of musical entertainment
and 15 local community organizations
supported this completely enjoyable
fundraising initiative. Over the past four
years, EVE-olution itself has evolved from
empowering Amelia Rising clients to
empowering women and families of our
community – hence this year’s theme,
EVE-olution Evolving.
The event also provided an opportunity
to draw attention to International Women’s
Day and our uniquely feminist and anti-
oppressive roots, and connects Amelia
Rising with a broader and stronger
community network.
Our goal moving into 2012 is to build on
our success and once again evolve this event
– this time, into an established fundraiser
that will, each year, raise awareness about
sexualviolenceinourcommunity,reminding
people that their financial support ensures
our programs are responding to the ever-
changing needs of our neighbours, sisters,
daughters, mothers and friends.
Outreach at Amelia Rising
EVE-olution 2011
Out-Reach
to In-Reach
6 AMELIA RISING SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTRE OF NIPISSING ANNUAL REPORT 2011
7. Victims’ Bill of Rights
Commemoration
We celebrated the 15th
anniversary of the
Victims’ Bill of Rights with an invitation-
only brunch, thanks to special funding from
the Ontario Victim Services Secretariat
to commemorate the anniversary in our
community. The event served to remember
victims of crime and to honor those working
to improve the health and well-being of
survivors of violence. Powerful speakers at
the event included Steve Sullivan, former
Ombudsman for Victims of Crime, and
Andrée Cazabon, a street youth-turned-
award-winning-documentary filmmaker,
who uses film as a springboard to share
victims’ voices and promote their rights.
We also unveiled a plaque at Amelia Rising
Garden Plot at Amelia Beach in honor of
victims of crime in our community.
A Child & Youth Lens: Improving
Our Services for Young Women
Each year, we see hundreds of young
women walk through our doors needing
our services. The numbers swell during
frosh week or after the holidays. During
our survey of sex work happening in North
Bay, we were again surprised to see young
women in university increasingly engaging
in sex work.
In order to truly meet the needs of young
people, we have to continue to ask
ourselves how we can improve our services
to reach this population of young women.
Ramona Alaggia, Research Chair at the
University of Toronto and the Office of the
Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth,
joined over 60 participants, including
many on the Regional Domestic Violence
Coordinating Committee helped us move
this conversation forward! Thank you to all
involved!
Nomination for Award
of Distinction and
Non-Profit of the Year
Amelia Rising was nominated
for an Award of Distinction from
the Ministry of the Attorney
General of Ontario for Innovative
Programming and Non-Profit of
the Year by our local Chamber of
Commerce.
Resource Development
Sadly, funding for essential services like our
crisis counselling does not grow on trees.
Keeping our organization operating calls
for some real innovative thinking when
it comes to funds development. We are
fortunate to have a new Funds/Financial
development coordinator who joined us
in May of 2011 and a committed board
dedicated to finding the resources we
need to help women rise up!
Over the next fiscal year our new Funds/
Financial Development Coordinator will
be developing a 3 year financial plan,
initiating an exciting new Fundraising
initiative for May 2012 Sexual Assault
Awareness Month, and seeking out new
funding opportunities to enhance current
programs and services.
Victims’ Bill of Rights Commemoration
Ramona Alaggia
Associate Professor
Factor-Inwentash
Chair in Children’s Mental Health
North Bay Mayor Al McDonald,
Candice Bottle and Monique Smith MPP
Steve Sullivan Andrée Cazabon
7 AMELIA RISING SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTRE OF NIPISSING ANNUAL REPORT 2011
8. Volunteering with Amelia Rising offers a
unique and rewarding experience to work
with others who are compassionate and
committed to supporting women who have
experienced sexual assault or abuse; and
working towards the prevention of sexual
assault. We are fortunate enough to have
over 40 active volunteers working on our
crisis line and within our dynamic centre.
Each month, Amelia Rising Sexual Assault
Centre of Nipissing’s crisis line receives
dozens of calls from people in North Bay
and area that have been impacted by sexual
violence. The effects of sexual violence are
often long lasting and far reaching. It is a
difficult journey of healing for survivors and
loved ones.
Volunteer training and recruitment is
ongoing. In August of 2011, we hosted
a weekend training session where we
conducted the 30 hour training course
over two weekends. Out of this came 10
strong and eager new volunteers. With
training taking place this November and
another training planned for February
we look forward to welcoming 15 new
volunteers to our already outstanding
group of dedicated individuals.
Tohonoralltheamazingworkourvolunteers
do, we hosted a Volunteer Appreciation
BBQ in August at the Rotary Pavilion at
the North Bay waterfront. The community
of North Bay was very supportive as we
received food, refreshments and gift
donations from Mike & Lori’s No Frills;
Sobey’s, TW Foods, Bay Produce, M&M’s
Meats, Metro, The Hairport and Alliance
Water& Coffee.
Presenting the New
Marie Teresa Smith Award
So Amelia Rising isn’t a real person… but
Marie Teresa Smith certainly is! Marie has
been a volunteer with our centre since
2008. She is always one of the first to take a
shift on our Crisis line or to offer support to
new volunteers. We are honored to name
this award after her and her exemplary
work. Thank you Marie!
This year, the Marie Teresa Smith Award
goes to Laila Wilkinson, one of our
dedicated crisis line volunteers. Laila has
been a volunteer for ten years she helps
to give back by volunteering with our food
bank, as well as on our crisis line. Her calm
and soft-spoken character puts Centre
clients at ease. Laila offers our clients
tremendous support during challenging
times. Thank you Laila!
Volunteer Appreciation BBQ
Volunteering at
Amelia Rising
8 AMELIA RISING SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTRE OF NIPISSING ANNUAL REPORT 2011
9. Young Philanthropists in Action
This year, our Youth Philanthropy Initiative
(YPI) students went above and beyond. Not
only did they win $5,000 for our organization
through their YPI school project – they have
also continued to support our organization
by carrying out numerous food drives
throughout the year. That kind of long-term
support is the essence of real philanthropy.
In fact, these amazing students have single-
handedly stocked our food bank over the
past 12 months. Their initiative deserves
recognition. We are proud to include you
in the Amelia Rising community! Thank
you Katie Fettes, Vanessa Smith, Bryanne
Cote, Kassie Austin, Emily Hawes, and
Jayla Preston.
Rising Up and Giving Back:
Client Spotlight
Josie Anderson turned to Amelia Rising’s
crisis line, individual counselling and group
sessions ten years ago in a time of need.
From that dark time, this courageous
single mother went on to rise above –
she attended college and then university,
earned a degree and moved on with her
life. Amelia Rising, she says, “was a vital
part of me saying ‘I want to live, I want to
go on, I want to find out who I am”. Over
this past year, we have been extraordinarily
lucky to have Josie come back to voice
those experiences and share her conviction
about the importance of our work to
women’s lives. Josie has now shared her
story with North Bay’s Chief of Police, our
Ministry of the Attorney General Funding
Representative and other community
partners, and starred in a video viewed by
the more than 300 participants of the North
Bay and Area Community Foundation. It
has been a privilege to accompany you on
your journey. Thank you so much, Josie!
Student spotlight
“I read somewhere that it is not the
mountains that trip us or cause us to fall,
rather, it is the small pebbles that we trip
over and need to rise above. Rising up
seems to be an everyday occurrence for
the unique group of women who work at
Amelia Rising, as well as their clients. The
work, clients, and especially the staff push
everyone they come into contact with to
rise up, overcome barriers, and become a
stronger, more independent and confident
individual. To me, rising up and rising
above is all about being able to do things
you never thought possible, and eliciting
confidence in yourself – often times, with
the help of others, but many times, through
your own accomplishments – and being
able to achieve some type of personal
growth. I was able to do that during my
time here.“
Laura Stanford was a part of the Mental
Health and Addictions Worker program at
Canadore College. Congratulations Laura,
thank you for all your hard work!
Spotlights
“I want to
live, I want
to go on,
I want to
find out
who I am.”
9 AMELIA RISING SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTRE OF NIPISSING ANNUAL REPORT 2011
