Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre summer programs are in full swing
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many key community spaces were forced to shut their doors, including the Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre. Prior to the pandemic, the dynamic centre on Hanson Street, in Whitehorse, offered “a whole array of female empowerment types of programming,” said executive director Sofia Ashley, citing bike-repair and oil-change workshops as examples.
Once they reopened, there was a process of rebuilding, which focussed on reinstating ongoing services such as the drop-in hours and the Community Kitchen meal program on Wednesdays and Fridays. Now that those essentials have been re-established, Ashley explained that they have “a bit more energy and a bit more capacity to be experimenting with these kinds of broader things.”
One of these things is a weekly Bollywood dance class with Miltra Antony. The class began as a trial, in April, and was immediately popular. Ashley credits the program’s success to the instructor.
“She’s lovely, she has a super-infectious energy [and] she wanted to contribute, so we tried out a Bollywood class on a Wednesday evening and quickly had 10 women sign up, and [they] had a lovely time.
“You don’t have to be a great dancer; that’s not the point,” Ashley continued. “Miltra has a lot of lived experience; she has a lot of joy she brings to … I don’t know … I’ve been thinking about it as, in the times that we’re in, there’s a lot of overwhelm, there’s a lot of darkness, there’s a lot of uncertainty, there’s a lot of really terrible global things happening and we can get immobilized in the fear and the negativity and the overwhelm of it all.
“And so, like, joy and rest and time for yourself to do something playful and fun is a really important part of taking care of your mental health and also giving yourself some of that care that maybe you need.”
The other program that Ashley highlights is the Moms and Kids Summer Program. Activities are aimed at kids aged 5 to 8, but Ashley is quick to point out that moms can also bring their infants and toddlers. The program provides recreation opportunities for families who may not otherwise access them. For example, many of the outings are spent exploring the Wilderness City’s natural wonders.
“Every single neighbourhood in town has massive, beautiful, really wonderful, really cool trail networks and things to explore, and they’re all accessible by city bus—but if you don’t know that and you don’t know where to go to check it out, it can seem inaccessible,” Ashley said.
One week, families might visit the Wildlife Preserve; and another week, they go to Long Lake. There are also fun, crafty activities such as making zines … or polymer-clay bracelets, with artist Lara Melnik.
The program is an opportunity to connect with nature and with other moms. It can make single parenting less lonely, Ashley said.
The Moms and Kids program happens every Friday afternoon until early August, when the centre’s summer student, Sierra Link, goes back to school.
The Bollywood dance class and Moms and Kids program is part of the centre’s larger purpose as a community hub and resource for women.
“When I say ‘women,’ I mean all women, as well as folks who identify outside the gender binary—that’s kind of who we’re open to these days,” Ashley said.
“Our mandate really is to be here until all women are living equal and thriving in life, and we know that that’s not really the reality. And we do that by creating a safe space for people to just be, sometimes, or to come and access support and resources, which largely looks like referrals to other places.
“It’s really about self-determination, fundamentally, and supporting women where they’re at, with whatever steps they want to take.”
The centre also has a strong activism side that encourages women to explore feminism and what that means to them.
“We’re also about creating community, and I think that, certainly, with the pandemic and the shifts that we’ve seen and with the, like, increasing poverty and increasing income gaps, we’ve become a bit more like a social-service agency; but, like, really, at our heart we’re a centre for collective feminist action. This is our women’s centre—Our, with a big ‘O’.”
Ultimately, Ashley said that the centre is meant to be for the community and that they always welcome new programming ideas. The Bollywood dance program resulted from Antony expressing an interest in being involved. Ashely would like to see more of that engagement with the centre.
“I’d love for women in our community to think about their relationship with the centre.
“We are your women’s centre, too. We are for everyone.”
To learn more about what’s happening at Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre, follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/VFWCYT
