The Town of The Blue Mountains is flying the My Friend’s House Courage Campaign flag.
On Nov. 24, the town held a special ceremony at the town hall in Thornbury to raise the Courage flag. Councillor June Porter, representing Mayor Andrea Matrosovs, read a proclamation declaring Nov. 25 to be the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in the community.
“This month we acknowledge our community’s support of My Friend’s House Courage Campaign and commitment to ending gender-based violence,” said Porter. “(We) urge all citizens to recognize this day by taking action to support survivors of gender-based violence and becoming part of the efforts to end gender-based violence.”
Councillors Alex Maxwell and Shawn McKinlay were present for the ceremony, along with town administrative staff. Jane Truemner and Jodi Petitpas represented My Friend’s House.
“Thank you for joining us and helping acknowledge this day in our community. We at My Friend’s House are spending lots of time raising awareness,” said Petitpas.
My Friend's House runs its Courage Campaign for the month of November, raising awareness about gender-based violence in the communities it serves - Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, Clearview Township, The Blue Mountains and Meaford. The shelter takes over 3,000 crisis line calls per year from women needing support in South Georgian Bay and they house and transition about 600 women a year, many with their children.
The United Nations General Assembly has designated Nov. 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The premise of the day is to raise awareness around the world that women are subjected to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence; furthermore, one of the aims of the day is to highlight that the scale and true nature of the issue is often hidden.
