Trauma focused workshops held prior to Montreal Massacre vigil
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Fourteen women who died in the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal weren’t forgotten in La Ronge this week, as a candlelight vigil and men’s healing training workshop took place.
“It was a memorial vigil for the massacre that happened Dec. 6, 1989, where 14 women were killed because they were women,” said Piwapan Women’s Centre Executive Director, Karen Sanderson, about Thursday’s ceremony. “We’ve been working with United Church Minister Heather Wyatt for over a decade. She’s been hosting this for quite a while.”
In order to bring a greater understanding of what’s causing the violence, three days of men and healing workshops featuring Rick Goodwin began Dec. 4. He operates a sexual assault and men’s abuse group in Ottawa and Sanderson said his presentations focused on understanding the trauma men go through and trying to find strategies in helping them through their healing journeys. She noted the candle light vigil and the training workshops are connected because it brings to scope the magnitude of trauma with no resolution to it.
In all, about 20 people attended the training, which covered trauma from childhood to adulthood that affects men and violent tendencies. Since Piwapan is mainly focused on women and children who are dealing with the effects of violence, Sanderson said management wanted to provide a service that would be useful for men.
