In one of our Grade 10 Respectful Relationships workshops this past week, we spoke with youth about our 5-month social justice youth facilitator training that we do on Monday evenings after school. Our R+R Youth Team co- facilitate sessions with the Adult Facilitators...
Blog
The Only Openly Gay Family in Russia Flee for Children’s Safety – by Lynda Laushway
Author Masha Gessen is leaving her home in Russia and moving to the United States with her partner and three children. Gessen is the courageous author of the book entitled The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin and has been the only openly gay...
The Fat Body Visible – by Megan Manning
The SWOVA library recently added a film to its collection. “Fat Body (In) Visible,” is a short film by Margitte Kristjansson and a fascinating insight into the lives of two fat activist women, Jessica and Keena. The norm in our society is to believe that fat is bad,...
Youth Take the Lead in Needs Assessment for SWOVA’s Salish Sea Girls’ Leadership Project – by Andria Scanlan, Project Coordinator
The eleven young women who make up the Youth Advisory Council for the Salish Sea Girls’ Leadership Project (SSGLP) will be joining the ranks of off island commuters over the next few weeks. In order to explore what their peers from Galiano, Mayne, Pender and Saturna...
A truly inspiring evening – by Megan Manning
A clear vision, a number of passionate and engaged youth, inspiring performers, and many generous community donations, make up the Sparkfest recipe for success. The vision comes from Kate Maurice – Mentor/Supervisor of SWOVA’s Pass It On program - and from amazing...
My Time in the Youth Team – by Cole Smith
I feel that the SWOVA youth team has impacted my life in such a dramatic way that it would be an injustice to fail to recognize it. As a graduating member of the Respectful Relationships Youth Team, I can say with confidence that the future is in good hands. Working...
Intentional Mentoring – by Kate Maurice
In my life, the mentor's I've had have always been people I've recognized after the fact. I think it's rarer when we find ourselves in intentional mentoring. In either direction — to have the confidence to believe you could be a mentor to someone or conversely the...
The Beloveds – by Christina Antonick
This following image was chosen by the Obama campaign to be the image that came up when they declared their victory in November. It went on to become one of the most liked photographs of all time (it was an image actually taken last August). Someone commented that it...
Systemic Violence and the Death of Amanda Todd – by Lynda Laushway
The recent tragic suicide of Amanda Todd is front-page news in Canada. Cyber-bullying and other forms of bullying are the topic of many conversations. What seems to be missing from the conversations is the desire to look at the systemic violence, attitudes and...
Social and Emotional Learning and Why it Matters to Our Children – by Lynda Laushway
Social and emotional learning are as important to our children as learning to read and write. They are skills for life that will support our children to become successful and caring adults. They are the skills that build community and our relationships with each...
A Walk Across the Sun, by Lynda Laushway
I literally read this book over 48 hours. “A Walk Across the Sun”, by Corban Addison, is a compelling novel following two young South Asian girls who are betrayed by people that they trusted and sold into slavery, after losing their family in the 2000 Tsunami. ...
Safety Means Everyone: Building a Nurturing GBLTQ Community – by Juli MacDonnell
The last few days, I’ve been having conversations about how to nurture a rural queer community - when Gay, Lesbian, Trans, Bi, Queer (GBLTQ) people feel safe in our community and when they don’t. I talked to someone at a Youth Drop-In Centre. He told me of a...