Tragedy brings about change PEGGY REVELL
From family violence to mental health — over the past few years Medicine Hat Police Service has focused on changing the way it does business when it comes to these calls with the support of community organizations
It was a change, in many ways, born from tragedy.
In November 2013, city police and RCMP responded to a domestic abduction which turned fatal, as a man killed himself and his estranged wife by driving head-on into a semi-truck on a rural highway outside Medicine Hat.
“That night we had a really good conversation and it really felt like things had to be done differently,” said Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter Society executive director Natasha Carvalho. “How do we create more of a partnership — we’ve
always had a good partnership with the police — but maybe to enhance it and to do things in a different way.”
Having funding for an extra position available, the MHWSS chose to embed this position at the police station — with one police officer, and one outreach worker forming the initial Safe Family Intervention Team, officially launching in July of 2014.
The plan was to have the outreach worker follow up on domestic calls the police responded to, going to these homes and seeing what help might be needed.
“Once we got there everything changed. We realized that people were coming to us, they were responding,” said Rose O'Donnell, assistant director of the MHWSS, and they secured more funding to add another outreach worker to the team.
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Amongst many things, the workers provide risk assessment, safety plans, education, and referrals to different services which are available such as mental health, addictions, family services, housing, and other MHWSS programs to those they meet with.
“I think it’s had a huge impact in the community,” said O’Donnell. They went from between 65-70 referrals in 2014, to 329 women and children and men entering the outreach program. Another 173 didn’t enter the program, but were worked with.
“It’s really impressive numbers. Some of them aren’t long term, some of them are longer term. It’s planting seeds, that’s what it’s about.”
It’s also a preventative approach, said Carvalho.
“We know in our sheltering history that people tend to come in when things have happened badly for a long time, and they’ve finally maybe made that choice,” she said. “This way we’re catching them right away. As soon as something happens, before it even goes to being charged, they’re getting a call
Since officially launching in July 2014, members of the Safe Families Intervention Team, Jamie Evans, Shantel Scherger, Sgt. Randy Teel and Leanne Biem have been based out of the local police station, as part of a joint project between Medicine Hat Police Service and the Medicine Hat Women's Shelter Society to proactively reduce family violence in the community.
saying “hey, how you’re doing?”
“From our side of it, it’s been advantageous because we can get the victims the treatment they need quicker, and access to those resources almost immediately, as well as safety planning,” said Insp. Brent Secondiak with the MHPS. “I think we’re pleased with the results and I’m excited to see where we can go in the future.”
This past June, the program was recognized with a provincial Justice Award.
The Kinsmen Club of Medicine Hat is proud to have donated almost $2,000,000 in the last 10 years to our community.
Legacy Projects Include: Kin Coulee; Kinplex I & II, Kinsmen Aquatic Center – Medicine Hat Leisure Centre; Kinsmen Children’s Library; Southridge Recreation and Wellness Centre; and Kinsmen Skate Park.
Annual Sponsorships Include:
Free Family Swimming in Medicine Hat & Redcliff ; Free Public Skating in Medicine Hat & Redcliff ; St. Louis School Milk Program; plus sponsorship of numerous local organizations and children’s causes and sports.
If you are interested in joining the Kinsmen Club of Medicine Hat
62 Contact President Matt Wilson at 403-581-7503.
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At this point they’ve seen a slight decrease in recidivism rates — but not a whole lot, said Secondiak.
“Our hope is that over time, with a consistent message going out that we’ll see a reduction in those rates,” he said. They’ve also brought on board Lethbridge College to do a program review on the effectiveness of the program.
They also hope to expand in the future, Secondiak said.
“There’s really three parts to a domestic — there’s the victim of physical or emotional abuse, there’s the children who are witness to those scenes as well, and the offenders,” he said. “I think historically we’ve done a good job at
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