FCWC May Newsletter.pdf

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Remembering Victims of HomicideCounselling Service hosts vigil-Republished from the Thompson Citizen April 24, 2013 edition

Lita Walker didn't know what

to expect on route to Winnipeg

back in October 2007, but within

a day her family was saying

goodbye to her brother, the

province's latest homicide victim.

"It was like my world ended

after hearing what happened,"

says Lita who missed what would

have been her last chance to speak

to her brother Lyle Walker.

Lita missed a call that Friday

from the 35-year-old who spent

most of his life in Nelson House.

The next evening he was attacked

outside a Winnipeg nightclub.

Lyle suffered a traumatic brain

injury and died in hospital two

days later.

Lita's suffering is common in

northern Manitoba according to

Jacqueline Walker, one of the

facilitators of a Homicide

Bereavement Group in

Thompson. The support group is

new to the city, and was

established by the

Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation

Family and Community Wellness

Centre after seeing a lack of

services for families of homicide

victims.

"Losing a loved one through

violence is a traumatic experience

because no one could ever be

prepared for that loss," says

Jacqueline who is also holding a

candlelit vigil for homicide victims

and their families as part of

National Victims of Crime

Awareness Week (April 21- 27).

The 8th annual Victims week will

be observed across Canada with

the goal of raising awareness

about issues facing victims and

their families.

Shelley Briem experienced

that lack of counselling services

after losing her son Keith

Anthony Woodman in 2009.

Woodman was murdered during a

home invasion in Leaf Rapids,

and two years later Briem sought

counselling after having to listen

to the details of the attack in

court. She says there was only one

NISICHAWAYASIHK

CREE NATION

F C W C N E W S L E T T E R

M a y 2 0 1 3

FAMILY & COMMUNITY WELLNESS CENTRE

Bev Brightnose at the vigilfor families of homicide

victims.



and barbecue

Ma 21- 24

Community Cleanup

Barbecue runs May 2

12:00-3:00 p.m

at the FCWC

Our staff participatedin Earth Day byhelping clean aroundthe office. Now it’syour turn to help keepour communitybeautiful.Public Works(484-2597) will pick upall the waste youcollect at the cost of

$1.00 per garbage bagContact our Community HealthReps Myrna Dumas,Mervin Linklater or Lorraine Linklater at(204) 484-2341 for more information.

Garbage bagsand gloves areavailable for

pick-up at the Public Health

Department



counsellor in Thompson at the time.

"You have to book counselling before an

incident happens just to be sure you have a spot

with that counsellor. You almost have to anticipate

losing someone," she says.

Briem began travelling to Winnipeg to attend

sessions through the province’s Victim Services

Branch. Still, she says the travel and process is

frustrating for someone who is still grieving. One

thing that is helping, is the Homicide BereavementGroup, which is halfway through a 12-week session

with families of homicide victims.

"Participants in the support group are helping

one another by sharing their

experiences and insights and by

allowing others to do the same," says

Jacqueline. "The common bond is the

unique grief we all share."

"This is different because it's a

violent act," says Briem who still sheds

tears when asked about her son. "With

Keith it was a hands-on act. It was

intentional with purpose to harm."For Lita, she’s accepted the loss,

even though it was once difficult

knowing Lyle’s killer was still free. She

wrote one last letter to her brother and

began singing with a choir at

memorial services, helping others deal

with their loss. Her family still puts out

a plate of food for Lyle during

gatherings or holidays. But as

heartbreaking as his missing presence

is, Lita advises people to never stop

talking about their loved one.

"He was hilarious, you can say he was like a

Jack Tripper," she laughs, referring to the expressive

Three's Company character. "That's the kind of

person my brother was. He meant a lot to me."

"You have to book counselling before

an incident happens just to be sure you

have a spot with that counsellor. You

almost have to anticipate losing

someone," she says.

-Shelley Briem

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TOP:Olive and Stew Daymake a presentationto the HomicideBereavement Groupabout the life of theirson Jay Sin Nunn, away for clients toshare the person’s liferather than their death.

LEFT:Shelley Briem holds apicture of her son

Keith AnthonyWoodman who died in2009 during a homeinvasion in the town of Leaf Rapids. Briembrought the samephoto with hereveryday during thetrial for the murder of her son.

RIGHTSpritual leader Ed

Azure listens during asupport groupmeeting.



In photos:

Left: April 24 also marks the two-year death anniversary of Jay

Sin Nunn who was murdered outside the Juniper Centre in

Thompson. Right: Hilda Fitzer spoke to the crowd on behalf of

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak.

The NCN Family and Community Wellness Centre held a

candlelight vigil on Wednesday April 24 outside Robin’s

Donuts in Thompson. The family of victims, dignitaries and

members of the public and media attended the event.



Clockwise : Chief Jerry Primrose lights a candle during the

vigil, Thompson Mayor Tim Johnston consoles a family member

who lost someone to homicide and Andy Daniels and Tyler Craig perform after Daniels does the opening prayer.

A table of photos and memories honouring

victims of homicide.



Step right up folks!Public Health Department holds Immunization Carnival

One-hundred children got their up-to-date

immunization shots during the Immunization

Carnival held by the Public Health Department on

April 25. Seven staff members (including three

nurses) worked at the clinic which drew 115 kids in

total. Staff said they were busy throughout the whole

carnival and gave their last immunization needle at

7 p.m.

“I was so thankful and grateful for all the

parents that came in and brought their kids and

were so patient,” says Lynda Wright, Head of Public

Health, “Things sometimes got hectic.”

But it wasn’t all needles throughout the day.

Children and their families were treated to games,

prizes and snacks. Wright says she’s thankful to all

the staff in the health department who worked as ateam to run the games, supply and hand out prizes

and even dress as clowns and cartoon characters.

The idea to hold an Immunization Carnival

came after Wright attending a workshop in February.

She says the event was a success for its first run at the

FCWC. The carnival also gave the department a

head start on their preschool aged children (four to

six) with 23 kids going through the clinic.

“Preschoolers usually fall behind because the

last needle they get is at 18-months-old,” says

Wright, “then they’re next scheduled needle isn’t

until they’re four to six-years-old. If you tell parents

when their child’s next needle is, they don’t

remember because it’s two or three years later.

There’s a big block and I think that’s where parents

tend to forget.”

Wright is thinking about expanding the event

next year, with the possibility of holding a two-year

carnival. Until then, she encourages those who

missed out to drop by the clinic.

“People can come in anytime, Monday to

Friday. You can either book an appointment or just

walk in. Our door is always open, and phone calls

are welcome. We want to do all we can to help bring

up our immunization rates.”

For more information about immunizationspeople can call the Public Health Department at the

FCWC at (204) 484-2341 ext. 2242 or 2252.

The first ImmunizationCarnival drew 115children from thecommunity into thePublic Health Clinic.

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Sunday May 4

NCN Family and Community

Wellness Centre

6:00 p.m.

Dancers

Anyone who is interested in

joining or forming a square

dancing group.

Volunteers are also needed to

help plan a two-day community

competition in August.

We want to make this an

annual event, but we need to

see that there are interested

dancers, volunteers,

instructors, musicians and

other participants.

CALLING ALL DANCERS

Square Dancing Meeting May 4

Rekindle your grandparents’ dance steps.

Our goal is to fundraise for a$10 000 payout to be distributed to all competitors.



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In photos: Immunization Carnival



Elders from the community completed the Police Academy

for Older Adults on April 25 at the Centre, after a three-day

workshop with Sergeant Robert Cooke, NCOIC Community

Police Services of the RCMP D Division. The workshop is

meant to teach older adults how to live safe and healthy lives. It

includes topics such as identity theft, elder abuse, internet safety

and planning for the future.

Sgt. Cooke began the program in 2007 and has presented

to more than 70 communities since then. It’s only in the last

year that he’s planned and refocused the workshop to target

northern communities.

Originally, Sgt. Cooke wanted to customize the program to

fit Nelson House and other Aboriginal communities, but

instead he’s also using the opportunity as a learning experience

for himself.

“What I’m going to do is give the full presentation that we

give to every older adult across the province and then I will

learn from the elders in Nelson House what needs to be added

to it or changed throughout the process.”

Charlene Spence of the Counselling Services Department

says the RCMP contacted her because they wanted Nelson

House to be the pilot project for bringing this workshop into

remote communities. Spence says there are some topics that

don’t directly apply to Nelson House, like safety precautions for

apartments and other housing. But there are other sections of

the presentation she’s seeing a lot of interest in from the elders.

“I think it was really beneficial” says Spence. “We’re

already getting calls this morning about wills and estates. So

they’re talking about it. That was a big thing for them too;

when they pass and what should be done. They didn’t know

they could prepare themselves for that.”

Sgt. Cooke plans to return to Nelson House to sit down

with Spence and Constable Ryan Linklater, a member of the

local Detachment who assisted with translating some of the

Police Academy for Older AdultsRCMP workshop teaches elders to stay safe and healthy

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topics presented from English to Cree.

The group will rewrite some of the

topics and tailer them to Aboriginal

communities.

Sgt. Cooke says there’s already a

few areas he believes need major

adjustments.

“Primarily with the area of frauds

and scams with the internet. There’s

some of it that does not really apply,but there’s some of it that applies in a

different way. I’d like to reinforce that

with things like payday loans.”

He also wants to beef up the

banking section to include things like a

Northern Store account card to make it

more relevant to the local community.

Sgt. Cooke ended with a

graduation to swear in all the elders

who completed the workshop.

People can download the resource

“Seniors Guidebook to Safety and

Security” at the following link:http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/pubs/

ccaps-spcca/pdf/seniors-aines-eng.pdf

or contact Counselling Services

Department at (204) 484-2341 ext 2293

or 2294.

F A S H I O N M

O N T H L Y M a y 2 0 1 3

14 Bay Road Drive Nelson House, MB R0B 1A0 Phone: (204) 484-2341 Fax: (204) 484-2351

NISICHAWAYASIHK CREE NATION

FAMILY & COMMUNITY WELLNESS CENTRE

About

The Family and Community Wellness

Centre was established to support

holistic wellness by providing different

opportunities to members of Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation. The

Centre provides services in Public

Health, Child and Family Services,

Counselling and other family and

community needs programs. It has sub-

offices in Winnipeg, Brandon,

Thompson and South Indian Lake.

Vision

Nisichawayasihk Mithwayawin

Mission

In unity, we promote community

awareness, empowerment, and a safe

environment towards holistic wellness.

***If you would like newsletters sent to

your email account, please send a

message with the subject “subscription”

to [email protected]

“We’re already getting

calls this morning

about wills and

estates. So they’re

talking about it.”

Charlene Spence, Counselling

Services Department.

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/pubs/ccaps-spcca/pdf/seniors-aines-eng.pdf






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Or find us on Facebook for more information

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Wellness Centre.

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Documents

FCWC May Newsletter.pdf