Profile on New Directions

WOMEN HELPING WOMEN THROUGH THE LOSS OF AN INTIMATE PARTNER

The New Directions quilt is a symbol of the power of women helping women. Each panel tells a woman’s own story in careful stitches. Just as women have traditionally come together to listen to each other and practice craftwork such as quilting and sewing, New Directions has maintained this spirit of women helping women in the evolution of the program. It was an art project designed to create a representation of the feelings of the group members in their common journey through divorce. Each panel tells a similar but different aspect of the road to independence. Janet Patterson, one of the quilters, says: “This project was about exploring the meaning of the loss, and how to cope with it. It was amazingly helpful. Helpful because the project required that we articulate our feelings, exploring the similarities and the differences in the group, and then your own perspective becomes imagery in cloth. The process is painful, but this quilt shows others that it’s something you can survive.”

The quilt is located at our
Lawrence Square location.
It will be on display for
the annual fundraiser,
SPA-LICIOUS, being held on
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 8TH, 2009.
Plan to attend with your
friends. New Directions
needs the financial
support of people who are
interested to support the
goals of the program. Event
details on website: www.
familyservicetoronto.org,
link to Spa-Licious, and more
special events.

New Directions, as an independent organization, provided services to women for more than 20 years from its Mt. Pleasant Road location. In 2004, New Directions became a program of FST (Changing Lives). Volunteers are the heart and soul of New Directions and they are involved in activities ranging from service delivery to advisory committees and fundraising.

New Directions programs are based on the philosophy of women supporting each other through a healing journey. Eight week peer support groups help women learn ways of dealing with the loss of an intimate partner resulting from separation, divorce, widowhood, or the ending of a same-sex relationship.

In addition to individual gains made by each woman, the program model also involves capacity building. Group graduates are invited to participate in training to prepare them for assuming future leadership roles in the program.

New Directions also provides legal clinics for women with family law issues related to the ending of a relationship with an intimate life partner. A number of the women family law specialists who volunteer their professional services in the clinics are bilingual.

Women who attend a bilingual family law clinic are able to speak directly to the lawyer without need of an interpreter. These clinics have been well received and highly rated by participants.

One-third of all Canadian marriages end in divorce. There are more than 70,000 new divorces each year in this country. Divorce and death are rated as major stressors in people’s lives. Limited funding has made it difficult to realize some of the program’s key goals: expanding the number of clinics, especially bilingual clinics, and working with ethno-racial communities to determine how the support groups can be useful to women in their communities.

New Directions is not currently eligible for Ontario Government funding because it does not fit any of the program criteria for their funding streams. The program relies primarily on individual donations and special event fundraising and volunteer support for this program. In the current fiscal year, the volunteers need to raise $40,000 to maintain programming at its current level.

The coming year will be critical to the survival of New Directions. The program needs more volunteers to help deliver services and raise money required to provide the programs. To help, contact Rhonda Freeman, Manager at 416.585.9151 x431.

Want to comment on this article or this issue? Go to Catalyst feedback page or e-mail catalyst@familyservicetoronto.org