The Citizen, 2019-04-04, Page 2PAGE 2. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019.
Sheldon Kennedy, internationally-
recognized advocate of violence and
abuse awareness programs, was able
to reach dozens of people on Friday
thanks to a Rural Response for
Healthy Children event in Goderich.
Kennedy was the keynote speaker
at the event, which was held at the
Knights of Columbus Centre in
Goderich, addressing his trailblazing
response to being sexually abused at
a young age and his life’s path as a
voice for others experiencing abuse.
The event, dubbed “Safe Places
Huron with Sheldon Kennedy”,
began with Kennedy’s address and a
lengthy question-and-answer period,
followed by roundtable
conversations about the Safe Places
initiative. It attracted the likes of
Huron-Bruce MPP and Minister of
Education Lisa Thompson, Huron-
Bruce MP Ben Lobb, Huron federal
Liberal hopeful Allan Thompson and
Huron County Warden Jim Ginn, as
well as dozens more from local
organizations, including over 40
high school students from Goderich.
After a brief introduction,
Kennedy launched into his own
story as a young hockey player of
promise from a small town of just
150. As a young prospect, it was
then that famed hockey coach
Graham James took interest in him,
bringing him to a hockey tournament
in Winnipeg, which was when he
first abused Kennedy. James has
since been convicted of abusing
other young hockey players and is
still in legal peril after additional
allegations against him surfaced in
2015.
Kennedy told those in attendance
that before James began abusing
him, James was very highly regarded
in the hockey community, having
been named Man of the Year by The
Hockey News (that honour was later
revoked). He said it was easy to
understand why he was seeking
James’ approval and why he wanted
to connect with him.
However, coming back from
Winnipeg, he says he was changed
forever, coming back like a zombie
after the abuse.
It was after that initial abuse,
Kennedy said, that he began to act
out.
He began to drink and get in
trouble with the law, he said, and
that is where the awareness and shift
in conversation needs to begin. He
said that the question needs to
change from “what’s wrong with
you?” to “what happened to you?”
Kennedy is viewed as a pioneer in
terms of blowing the whistle on
sexual abuse. When he pointed the
finger at James for years of sexual
abuse, he was one of the first to do so
and has since been cited as a
trailblazer for his bravery and
courage.
In the years since, Kennedy has
been employed as an expert witness
in a number of hearings and has
often been interviewed or consulted
when large cases of sexual abuse
enter the legal system.
Kennedy looked to his own track
record of being the child on the
wrong path, acting out and breaking
the law, saying that often these
children have experienced trauma in
their past, which is what has then
caused them to act out and break the
law.
When Kennedy founded Respect
Group Inc., he said he was very
surprised to find that many of the
law enforcement and aid agencies
were not communicating with one
another to solve a common problem.
He said that, to him, sharing
resources and working together
seemed like the natural course of
action, but it just wasn’t happening
and people simply weren’t
connecting the dots to the cause and
effect of sexual abuse and the
behaviour many survivors would
exhibit in the years following.
He compared it to fielding a
hockey team of players who have
never met, not teaching them
anything and then sending them out
on the ice with the expectation that
they would win games. He also
suggested it was like trying to repair
a broken leg by cutting an X-ray in
four pieces and handing those pieces
to four different doctors. It’s
impossible to get anywhere, he said,
unless everyone has the same
information and is working towards
achieving the same goal.
Since founding Respect Group
Inc., Kennedy says the organization
has helped to bridge those gaps in
western Canada and has served as a
model for other agencies across
Canada and beyond, looking to bring
several different agencies on board
and working towards achieving the
same goal.
The statistics, he said, are
shocking. He shared some with
those in attendance, saying that
according to his group’s records, 95
per cent of abuse survivors know
their abuser, while 45 per cent of
abuse happens within the survivor’s
own home.
He said that while making people
aware of the warning signs of
bullying and abuse is crucial,
it’s also important to empower
everyone to recognize bullying
and stop it before it can grow.
He also reminded people,
however, that the vast majority of
abuse goes unreported. So to look at
his organization’s statistics provides
an incomplete picture and those
numbers need to be multiplied
several times over, which is a scary
thought.
Selena Hazlitt, executive director
for Rural Response for Healthy
Children, said that she felt Kennedy
connected greatly with those in
attendance in Goderich. She also
said that seeing Thompson, Lobb
and Ginn in the audience told her
that the organization was discussing
something that was not only
important to her, but to them as well.
The most important thing
Kennedy discussed, Hazlitt said in
an interview with The Citizen after
the event, is to equip the community
and teach them how to respond when
the situation arises. Like Kennedy
said in his address, sexual abuse is
an uncomfortable issue; it’s
uncomfortable when it happens and
it’s uncomfortable to talk about after
the fact. That’s why the community
needs to empower volunteers and
designate safe places to ensure that
survivors know there is help and
resources waiting for them when
they come forward.
Kennedy hopes to change culture around abuse
Changing the conversation
Sheldon Kennedy was in Goderich last week to speak
about the years of abuse he sustained at the hands of
Graham James, his hockey coach. However, he also
discussed how to change the culture and empower a
community to spot abuse and/or bullying and to ensure
children are safe and agencies are working in concert to
help them. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
For the children
Selena Hazlitt, executive director for Rural Response for
Healthy Children, was part of a panel discussion at the
organization’s event last Friday in Goderich. Retired hockey
star Sheldon Kennedy was the day’s keynote speaker.
(Shawn Loughlin photo)
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INSIDE
THIS WEEK:
Seaforth’s Fisher elected Huron East Deputy-Mayor
4-H Clubs
awarded
Seaforth Councillor Bob Fisher is
Huron East’s new deputy-mayor,
besting two others who put theirnames forward at the inaugural
meeting of Huron East Council on
Dec. 4.Fisher, Tuckersmith CouncillorRay Chartrand and Grey Councillor
Alvin McLellan all let their names
stand for the municipality’s second-in-command position. This came
after Huron East eliminated the at-large deputy-mayor position,reducing the size of council from 12
members to 11 just ahead of
October’s election.It was Fisher who nominatedChartrand for the position.
Chartrand then paid the favour back
by nominating Fisher. FormerDeputy-Mayor Joe Stefflernominated McLellan for the
position.
Fisher told his fellow councillorsthat he has lived in the community
for over 40 years. In addition, he hasbeen a councillor for 12 years andspent nearly 40 years in business, all
experience he felt would aid in being
the deputy-mayor.Fisher also listed a number ofprojects he’d like to see undertaken
or continued both in Huron East and
in Huron County.In Huron East, Fisher said hewanted to see the municipality’s
community centres better utilized
and to promote a harmoniousrelationship between residents
of all of Huron East’s five wards.At the county level, Fisher said hewanted to see a greater focus on
tourism, saying that Huron County
could easily be the Prince EdwardCounty of southwestern Ontario. Healso said that while the county’s
accessibility advisory committee has
done a lot of great work, there is stillmore to be done.Fisher also said that, as someone
who is legally blind, he also hoped
that being named deputy-mayorwould inspire others with disabilities
saying that if they “get [their] ass offthe couch and do something” like hehas they can accomplish anything.
McLellan said that his decades of
experience as a councillor and onnumerous boards and committeeswould make him an ideal choice for
the deputy-mayor position.
He said that being self-employedwould ensure that he wouldn’t missany meetings, adding that he hates to
miss any council meetings.
He said he had been asked if he
The Huron County 4-H Leaders’
Association Awards Program was
recently held at the SeaforthAgriplex, recognizing 4-H membersfor their efforts throughout the year.
COUNTY AWARDS
Loretta Higgins won the MurrayCardiff Award for Top All-RoundMember.
The Don Pullen Award for highest
overall score in the county went toEvy Verschaeve. She also won theDedication Award for dedication to
the club. The Warden’s Novice
Award for first year competitivemember with the highest score wentto Emily Datema.
The Ben Lobb Award for the
junior member with the top essaywent to Kayla Drennan.Emily Franken won the Ontario
Plowmen’s Association Award for
outstanding agricultural 4-Hmember as well as the Longstanding
Graduating Member Award. She
also received her graduation seal.The Citizen-Rural Voice Awardsfor press reporter book competition
awards went to Dugald McIntosh
(first) and Mercedes Prout (second).The Huron County 4-H Leaders’Association Award for club
secretary book competition were
awarded to Emily Bieman (first) andKayla Drennan (second).The winning team for the county
Go for the Gold Competition was
the South Huron Sheep Club Teamwhich consisted of Amanda Bos,Rachel Gras, Grace Hallahan and
Evy Verschaeve.
The Top Gate Sign Award for the
White Christmas
The snow was falling on Friday night as Clinton held the
final Santa Claus parade of the Huron County season,
bringing residents and visitors out to the town to help
celebrate the holiday season. One of the main attractions of the
parade every year is the Clinton Pipe Band, seen here appealing
to the ears of all in attendance. (Nick Vinnicombe photo)Continued on page 12
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January 25th, 2019 at 4:30 pmForms are available online or at the
Township of North Huron office
at 275 Josephine Street in Wingham
Email: inittowinit@northhuron.ca
or call the Project Co-ordinator at 519-441-7629.
Continued on page 15
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
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The Citizen