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Join us for a special donation class raising money for the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre (DEWC) and the Indigenous Women’s Project, which provides emotional support to women surrounding residential school trauma, cultural isolation, racism and violence.
YYOGA Downtown Flow
Monday, June 20th
Led by: Mari Dickey
4:00pm-5:00pm
Flow Yoga
Donations begin at $10
In this world, the small intentional acts in our lives can be catalysts to create great change. Let this practice be a space for connection, inquiry and reflection of self. An opportunity to nourish curiosity and growth and to observe and tune in to how we show up for ourselves, for others and for our collective.
About the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre:
The Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre (DEWC) has existed since 1978 to support and empower women and children living in extreme poverty in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES).
Each year, DEWC assists thousands of women with trauma-informed approaches to care, culturally relevant programming, and service provision. Their programs are community-led and women-centered, responsive to needs identified by women of the DTES, and provide a space that facilitates women from diverse backgrounds coming together to build community and support.
Creating and maintaining low-barrier safe space for all women is their priority, particularly for the women who survive with complex trauma, mental health, and/or addiction issues. Through their Drop-In Centre, Emergency Shelter, and warming spaces, they have continued to support the basic needs of up to 750 women and children, with operations 24 hours daily, 365 days per year.
Indigenous Women’s Project
70% of the women accessing DEWC’s services are Indigenous. This program works with women to develop and implement cultural, recreational, social and/or Indigenous educational activities.
It provides emotional support to women surrounding residential school trauma, cultural isolation, racism and violence. Participants advocate for immediate and urgent responses from policymakers to improve the lives of Indigenous women.
Activities in the program include:
- Indigenous plant walks
- Outings for Indigenous women
- Indigenous women counselling, in partnership with other women’s organizations
- Cultural and community arts projects/workshops
The program also works to advocate for social justice issues within the community. Members of the program work with policy-makers to exchange knowledge about the reality of women in the community, and speak at City Council meetings. Women in the program also advocate for improvement of housing and homelessness reporting in the DTES through pushing for homelessness counts that account for gender-based experiences (such as couch surfing, unsafe shelter, domestic violence).
Members of the program are also constantly advocating for direct implementation of the 200 recommendations in DEWC’s report, Red Women Rising.
On April 3, 2019, The Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre (DEWC) released Red Women Rising: Indigenous Women Survivors in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside based on the lived experience, leadership, and expertise of Indigenous survivors. This comprehensive report is the culmination of a participatory process with 113 Indigenous women and 15 non-Indigenous women regarding the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
“We need to keep families together. Colonization and missing and murdered Indigenous women has broken families. The children left behind by missing and murdered Indigenous women are mostly in foster care and then when they age out they end up on the street. The violence against missing and murdered Indigenous women continues with their children who are also violated and made vulnerable.”
