Introducing Lillie Proksch, the Senior Communications and Events Coordinator at Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region, and the producer of the She Is Your Neighbour podcast; Jenna Mayne is Communications and Fund Development Manager, and the host of the podcast.
4m26s
WCSWR supports women and children who are experiencing domestic violence. Not just physical violence, but also emotional, financial, psychological, coercive control. Support is through emergency shelter, outreach services, transitional housing, and other support services. There are 45 beds in each location, Haven House in Cambridge and Anselma House in Kitchener. Both are at capacity. The units are hotel-style, with adjoining rooms available for women with children. With the housing crisis, stays can be from eight to twelve months. The long stays prompted the start of the transitional housing program, at Aspen Place, which is three units to house up to twelve people. And housing placement workers will help women get permanent housing. The need for services has increased 92% over the last two years, and that’s related to the additional stresses from Covid.
9m06s
Women don’t need to stay at the shelters to access the WCSWR services. Help is available through the two support phone numbers, and online at https://wcswr.org/ The online chat was implemented at the start of Covid, and is staffed by a social worker. The web site has a safety exit that deletes all the history from the WCSWR web site.
11m13s
WCSWR started the She Is Your Neighbour podcast to talk about the fact that domestic violence is happening to people in all different neighbourhoods, doesn’t matter what their background. They wanted to bring a face and a voice to the issue – the women experiencing abuse are not like they’re portrayed in mainstream media, these are strong women. WCSWR hired a professional photographer, Hilary Gauld to take pictures of the podcast participants. The podcast is aimed both at the general public, but also at women experiencing domestic violence, knowing they’re not alone in this experience. This is Season Four, Understanding Femicide. It’s six episodes discussing what happens when domestic violence becomes lethal.
14m19s
Trailer for Understanding Femicide.
15m07s
She Is Your Neighbour Season Four: Understanding Femicide will air on CKMS-FM from 1pm to Noon from 13 March 2023 until 17 April 2023. It is also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and other sites. Episodes can also be heard on the She Is Your Neighbour website. Featured on the website is Dr. Jennifer Kagan-Viater, featured on the second episode of the podcast. One purpose of the podcast is general education, including the definition of femicide: All killings of women and girls that involve sex- or gender-related motivations or indicators. Lillie gives a synopsis of the first episode with Fallon Farinacci.
19m11s
Clip from Episode One with Fallon Farinacci
20m15s
Discussing the serverity of femicide: In 2022 there were 52 femicides in 52 weeks. The word “Femicide” is hardly ever heard in mainstream media. The issue of femicide appears to be getting worse, and more so due to the pandemic. Women need to know they can reach out for support. It’s difficult to know who is experienci domestic violence because women don’t always report it, or reaches out for help. There is a lot of shame and stigma surrounding domestic violence. Women may be afraid to call the police or come out to an emergency shelter. But all kinds of people come to the shelter, all different backgrounds, wealthy people, older women. There is domestic violence in same-sex relationships, but violence against women is disproportionally by men.
23m28s
There are a lot of male allies and supporters, some of whom are on the podcast. Men can help by being supportive, providing information on the WCSWR support lines, but not necessarily asking women to leave their relationship right away.
What does it take to produce a podcast? It’s a long process, especially when it comes to safety concerns. It starts about six months in advance when they reach out to their guests. Lillie and Jenna write questions, pre-interview guests, have the photographer take pictures. The first seasons were ten episodes, but now reduced to six episodes to make it more manageable. There is a mix of ways they find their guests. Big names have appeared on the podcast, such as Anna Maria Tremonti. Bob had not imagined that someone as high-profile as Anna Maria Tremonti would be a victim of domestic violence. Lillie and Jenna reached out to her agent, and also through Twitter. Some people they reach out to don’t want to be on the podcast, other people have approached them. Ensuring the safety of their guests is a primary concern.
33m52s
Before Covid the interviews were done in person, now they’re done remotely. That has given Lillie a bit more prominence. They’re using Riverside FM as their remote recording sofware, and ensure the guests have a good microphone and setup. Bob geeks out over the technical specs of the software. The podcast is minimally edited to keep the guests as authentic as possible. The podcast started very small in a room at WCSWR and has turned into a bigger and better thing than expected. Bob says the podcast is very well done.
38m05s
Plans for the future? the next four episodes are airing weekly through the social media channels and the website. They’re trying to make She Is Your Neighbour as big as it can possibly be. Then they’ll start choosing next season’s theme and the guests. And they’re making She Is Your Neighbour into more than a podcast. There is a group called Neighbours And Loved Ones, standard training for community members who are worried about someone or who want to know about the services WCSWR provides. That’s run by a social worker on request. There is also a She Is Your Neighbour podcast club, like a book club but better because you don’t have to read anything. There’s a merch line to try to keep the project sustainable. There are several sponsors, some for individual episodes, and Rogers has sponsored the entire last two seasons. Sponsors come from contacts at the various events WCSWR runs throughout the year. It’s difficult to put a cost on the podcast, it’s rolled into all the other work Lillie and Jenna do.
41m22s
The podcast is being syndicated on Midtown Radio as the March feature, and a little bit on Rogers. Bob suggests they syndicate on the NCRA’s !earshot Digital Distribution System, and get distribution to campus and community stations across Canada.
Future episodes feature experts and survivors. Episode three will have Dr. Myrna Dawson, and episode four has local guest Sarah Robertson. Other guests are Sofia Aresta and Marlene Ham.
48m37s
WCSWR coordinates with other shelters out of the region when there aren’t enough spaces locally. WCSWR is one of the biggest crisis services organizations in Ontario. It used to be two separate organizations, Anselma House and Haven House, and people still remember it that way. WCSWR is biggest for a variety of reasons, not necessarily that things are worse here. Any women and their children who are experiencing any form of domestic abuse can make use of the support services. Lillie and Jenna repeat the contact information for support.
51m38s
Talking about how WCSWR is funded: 60% of the funding is from the Ontario ministry of Children and Community Services, the rest is from fundraising. Some programs, like music therapy are completely funded by donors. There are two signature events, the next is Hats Off To Mom, the annual Mother’s Day brunch, the first time it’s being held in-person in three years. Angie Hill is hosting, Juneyt is providing music.
54m25s
End credits.
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs alternate Fridays from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.
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