Cornwall Standard Freeholder

11 February 2010

Posted By MICHAEL PEELING

Wanda Seguin and Janet Handy are the people behind the Next Steps to Healing program for both men and women who have survived sexual abuse. The program is being funded for six months by the Ministry of the Attorney General to pick up where the counselling program of the Cornwall Public Inquiry left off.

The fruits of the Cornwall Public Inquiry are showing up at a counselling centre with the start of a program for female and male sexual abuse victims.

In response to Inquiry Commissioner Normand Glaude's recommendations, the Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG) has provided funding for the Next Steps to Healing program.

Next Steps is being run out of the same house on Amelia Street where Sexual Assault Support Services (SASS) for Women is located.

SASS executive director Janet Handy, who sat on Glaude's advisory board throughout the Inquiry, will be running Next Steps as well.

"We're opening our doors to men as well," Handy said.

Wanda Seguin, a counsellor at SASS about to leave, was asked to stay on to run the six-month Next Step program.

"We're sharing what we've been given," Seguin said. "We're giving back to the community. If we all did that, all of our little ones would be safe. Wouldn't that be amazing?"

The 15-week program will take on two groups of 10; one of men and women, but the two groups will be counselled separately by Seguin.

Handy said the program will start a third group if necessary or run a second edition of the program provided the $50,000 worth of funding from MAG holds out.

Although, Handy hopes to be able to present Next Steps as a "best practices model" to the provincial government that receives ongoing funding.

NEXT STEPS TO HEALING:

Services provided for both male and female abuse survivors

All of them will be regular clients of the Inquiry's counselling program, which ended last month.

To make the women who attend SASS more comfortable, the male clients have their own separate entrance at the back of the house.

Before the clients begin meeting as a group, Seguin is having one-on-one meetings with them to get to know each victim and establish trust.

Handy said the program fills a need for a mentoring program and peer support.

"This program focuses on strengthening resilience, social reconnection and ending isolation," Handy said.

Handy and Seguin are survivors of sexual abuse themselves, which allows them to help clients as peers.

"Peer education goes a long way in the healing process," Handy said. "It adds a lot of credibility when someone has gone through this themselves."

Seguin, a member of the Mi'kmaq First Nation, near Halifax, will have group meetings with the men and women starting in mid-March, where they will all participate in a "healing circle."

"It's an opportunity to listen, talk, share and give yourself a voice," Seguin said. "Everyone needs that."

The group members will have a bite to eat together as well because "food is really important," says Seguin.

They will also do something creative such as make a dream catcher or a rattle.

"When you do something creative together, something beautiful can happen," Seguin said. "You can access that gentle place of creativity."

Seguin explained that in a healing circle, everyone is equal and brings experience in how to survive the trauma of sexual abuse which they can share.

Handy said it's important for survivors to see they can confront the pain of abuse and keep surviving.

"You can feel the pain of abuse and not die," Handy said. "These people need to hear that."

However, Seguin stressed that it is not her intention to "bring back all the dark stuff" in the victims' lives.

Group members will also spend a week of the Next Steps to Healing program at the Sexual Assault Centre for Quinte and District thanks to MAG funding worth $95,000 announced last week.

Glaude recommended the province hire the centre to provide its week-long wilderness retreat for abuse survivors.

"That speaks to the fact they think our program is a good program," said executive director Kim Charlebois. "We were really, really pleased because we know that, but to have it recognized beyond us is really important."

The Family Counselling Centre of Cornwall rounds out the collaboration by taking care of the registration for Next Steps to Healing.

With files from QMI Agency

Article ID# 2444499

Healing circle??? Rattle???....

Reply | Report | Page Top Post #1 By iamjustacombiner

The only way that you can now live life to the fullest is by moving past what is holding you back. All the things holding you back are inside us. You are your own worst enemies, but we either fail to see it or won’t admit it. Instead, we let fear, excuses and bad behaviour get in the way of your life. You are exactly where you are in life because to one degree or another we have failed to accept responsibility and have therefore chosen to continue to be victims. You are not a lifelong victim! Now some of you are saying or thinking something like this and most of you will not pass this point if even you did the first sentence.

“Itinerant you a@&&hole , He/She did such and such to me and I did not choose to have that happen. What they did damaged me and therefore, I am a victim! I had no control over the situation and if it had never happened then I would be a better person without so many problems.”

This is just one instance of something that happened and because it is in the main stream we all get to see it. How is the rest of your life? Still having issues? And I’ll bet some are blaming the past. Maybe it does have some effect but you control your future and your lives not the system and not everyone else, you choose your reaction to what happens to you.

Being a victim becomes a crutch that is so very easy to lean on

Reply | Report | Page Top Post #2 By itinerant

Oops Know-it-all in the room I have to back away for fear becoming awed beyound belief. lol

Reply | Report | Page Top Post #3 By dodger

or is that beyond?

Reply | Report | Page Top Post #4 By dodger

Sexual abuse victims are grateful for the resources that are put forth and the valiant efforts of the care providers that operate them. Good luck on this venture! However I am still troubled by the fact that the MAG has put victims of sexual abuse at risk by not having all of the necessary support in place prior to cutting funding for independent counseling services. Victims will die as a result.

johnswales2009@live.com

Reply | Report | Page Top Post #5 By John Swales