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THE HURON EXPOSITOR, Aug 10, 2005 - 3
Women Today of Huron County turns 25
Women's advocacy group encourages local communities to see through 'gender lens'
By Jennifer Hubbard
Clinton NewsRecord Staff
For 25 years, Women Today of Huron (WTH) has been
encouraging local communities and governments to look at the
world through a "gender lens."
More than 100 supporters of the women's advocacy group
attended a recent anniversary barbecue to celebrate the past,
present and future.
"If I had to pull a thread through this entire organization it's
holding up our rural reality and looking at it through a gender
lens and saying - hey take a look at this," Women Today of
Huron executive director Pamela Hanington said.
"The issues that this organization has been behind are broad.
We're an autonomous, equality -seeking organization that has
the ability to say let's work on that"
Women Today began in 1980 when a group of local women
began meeting to discuss their concerns about the lack of
opportunities for rural women to get together and the lack of
information on important issues.
"Keep in mind this is 1980, prior to the Constitution and
prior to the Charter (of Rights and Freedoms)... we're talking
about a time when women's rights were not legally
entrenched," Hanington explained.
"Employers could still ask women if they were planning to
get married or have children and tell them what to wear to
work. Basically, it was legal to discriminate against women."
Kitchen table discussions grew to advertised meetings and
soon the group was up and running with pivotal programs like
'Women Being Well' and `Doing it Ourselves.'
"Women Being Well was health promotion before health
promotion was considered important," Hanington said.
"We were one of the first groups anywhere to begin talking
about breast cancer and these days breast cancer is a huge
issue."
Hanington praised the founding members for being the first
in the county to shine light on a number of important issues. A
1983 pamphlet highlighted discussions on health and wellness,
family violence, alcohol and drug abuse, aging and self esteem,
birthing options and even images of women in advertising.
"I love this. It's 1983 and they're talking about 'wife battery,
fact or fiction.' You can see how far we've come," she
commented.
"You have to realize that Women Today was really on the
cutting edge of raising awareness of women's issues within the
county in a way that nobody else was doing."
In 1984, Women Today became incorporated as a non-profit
Women across Huron County are joining in the
celebrations as Women Today of Huron celebrates its
25th anniversary. Debbie Patterson, Judy McMichael,
Fran McQuail, Debbie Selkirk and Elaine McDivitt were
just some of the early members of Women Today of
Huron.
charity and appointed a board of directors.
The next two decades were filled with workshops,
conferences, events and networking. Looking
back, Hanington said the organization's direction has been
driven by two main things - the dedicated women involved
and what women in the community say they need.
Crime Stoppers coordinator takes on
both Huron and Perth Counties
By Jeffrey Hawkins
Stratford Beacon Herald Staff
Getting bad guys off the
street and making the
community safer are two
things Sr. Const. Steve
Beasley can't stop thinking
about.
Sr. Const. Beasley is the
new Crime Stoppers co-
ordinator for Perth and
Huron.
The two counties have
been combined for a six-
month pilot project to see if
Sr. Const. Beasley can
effectively manage two
counties instead of just one.
The 24 -year career Ontario
Provincial Police officer took
on the Perth County Crime
Stoppers division by
replacing Sr. Const. Steve
Worboys, who retired earlier
this year.
Const. Beasley is- a one-
man show, with Crime
Stoppers offices in Goderich
and Gowanstown.
"I'm really looking
forward to handling both
counties in this challenging
undertaking," he said.
He has served as the Huron
County Crime Stoppers co-
ordinator for the last two and
a half years, and before that
he was a general duties OPP
officer in Kenora.
When he's not in the office,
calls to Crime Stoppers will
be forwarded to a live
operator in the Crime
Stoppers headquarters in
Bolton, which will send tip
reports to him by e-mail.
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Sr. Const. Beasley plans to
rejuvenate Crime Stoppers'
presence in both counties by
appearing at community
events and giving
demonstrations to citizens'
groups.
"We are a community
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Even though one man is
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The organization's broad mission statement - 'to enhance
the status of women in Huron County through education and
social action' - allows flexibility in meeting those needs,
Hanington explained.
A number of today's much-needed organizations - Huron
Women's Shelter, Second Stage Housing and Counselling
Services, Sheatre, Goderich Greeters, Stop Women Abuse
Now (SWAN) and Rural Response for Healthy Children -
began with discussions around the WTH table.
Women Today coordinates local Take Back the Night
marches, World Women's Day, Rural Women's Day and
Montreal Massacre remembrance events.
The organization is funded by the Ontario Women's
Directorate, Status of Women Canada and the provincial
Ministry of Children and Youth Services. Additional funding is
received through project -specific grants and community
donations.
And while she has only been with the organization since
2001, Hanington couldn't contain her excitement as she shared
Women Today's history and its plans for the future.
"I would say that things over the past 25 years have
improved, but we're not there yet," she said, adding women
still earn 70 per cent on the dollar of men.
"We still have this expectation that men and women should
be doing different things based on the fact that they are male
and female."
Recent initiatives include a television public service
announcement, violence and poverty research, a clothing
project and Community Living workshops.
High school students, both male and female, are the target
audience of new workshops as volunteers strive to teach the
next generation about healthy and equal relationships.
Volunteers and staff are currently working on `Gural' - an
alternative magazine for rural girls - and a `surviving the
plunge into poverty tool kit' for women in Huron, Perth, Grey
and Bruce counties.
"If there's one thing we still need to do - which we have
been doing and need to continue - it's to change the attitudes
towards women, because honestly, women are the backbone of
rural communities and if we start chasing women and children
out... there won't be anyone left," Hanington added.
Notice of Research Project
The University of Guelph
is working in cooperation with
Huron Business Development Centre
and the
Avon Maitland District School Board
as part of the
Huron and Perth County Community
Mapping Exercise
We will soon be carrying out a phone survey in
your area and would greatly appreciate your
input regarding your employment experiences
and skills. Please contact Harry Cummings
(519) 824-4120 ext 53637 collect if you have
any questions .
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