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Women to Rage Against Violence

November 2, 2016   ·   0 Comments

The victims of the violence described in this performance are the overwhelming numbers of women who are suffering from abuse.

Scheduled for Sunday, November 13 as a matinee at Town Hall Opera House, at 2:00 pm, Rage Against Violence was written by Gary Kirkham and Dwight Storry and is being performed as a reading, when the actors simply read from scripts on music stands before them.

An interesting and unusual line up of “actors” will be on stage for this production, including local politicians, the Chief of Orangeville Police, leaders in the community, actors, singers, well known community members. Together they are presenting the difficult, but necessary to hear, dramatic and traumatic stories of violence and abuse.

In a telephone interview with Stacey Tarrant, Manager of Development and Community Relations at Family Transition Place (FTP), we learned a great deal more about the upcoming event and the reasons why it is important to attend it.

Said Ms Tarrant, “These stories are based on real life. It’s difficult to watch in points but it educates and communicates those stories.”

Education is the key; where ignorance rules the roost and respect and love are lost, violence may well follow. Although FTP is best know as an emergency shelter, open always to women and their children running from violence in their homes or elsewhere, the organization also focusses on education and presenting information.

Two educators from the FTP staff, and for the last 13 years, go into the schools to run classes about healthy relationships from grades five and up.

“The kids love the classes because they can ask questions they couldn’t ask anywhere else. This gives them chance to learn what is a healthy relationship,” Ms Tarrant noted. Also, “The schools see the benefit too [as these subjects are not necessarily part of their curriculum].”

This performance, Rage Against Violence. is also a fund raiser for FTP about which we have now learned its value as a shelter and a source of school room education. Much further than that, though, is the mentoring with individuals and in groups.

“There is abuse counselling to help a woman in her journey of being able to cope with getting out of it” she explained. “There is counselling about sexual abuse for men and women.”

Ms Tarrant went on to talk about the problems at the front line, as it were: “Our shelter’s always been full for years – to capacity. We see a trend, now Christmas is coming, there are tensions over money.”

What can be done about it all, as individuals, how can we contribute to the solution?

“We really want the focus to be: by showing up [to the performance of Rage Against Violence], that is something,” Ms Tarrant was adamant. “Although the conversation might be difficult to have, I think that having the conversation can make people more aware.”

To some extent, legal advice is also available, keeping in mind there are no lawyers on the FTP staff but there is knowledge of how things  work within the law and assistance can begin with that.

Mentoring as groups and volunteering in any way are important  to the successful running of Family Transition Place.

Ms Tarrant mentioned, “For a mentors’ group, volunteer men started a committee as an education.”

Taking the message of this performance home is the beginning of “doing something about it.” Parents can teach their children even about all the little hints of sexist remarks that lead to a whole attitude that permits abuse. It can begin with the jokes that any way denigrate either gender.

“The more we talk and think about the problem, the better we see resolution,” commented Ms Tarrant. “I am a parent with an eight year boy. I’m always appropriate with him – I don’t repeat stupid jokes – they’re not okay.

The solution – we need to change our conversation with our children,” she affirmed.

Rage Against Violence is on at the Town Hall Opera House on Sunday, November 13 at 2:00pm. For tickets, call the Box Office on 519 942-3423; on line at  www.orangevilletix.ca

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