This committee of Sisters and Associates was founded in 1998 and had been working together since that time to address – to heal – the many ways violence is expressed in our society. In addition to conferences and facilitation work, the Healing Violence Committee walked the talk through bursaries to women in need. Since 2001, this assistance had been available to help women upgrade their work or life skills until the program completion in 2022.
Each year the Healing Violence Committee of the Sisters of Providence awarded a bursary totaling $20,000 to women in need.
This support was for women:
- Coming through the violence cycle who are committed to working in the field;
- Already engaged in grassroots work who needed training;
- Who needed counseling for healing and moving on;
- Who had the potential to empower others.
In reviewing six of previous year’s renewing applicants it was noted that they had used their funding primarily for counselling/therapy to help them recover from situations of abuse. Each made the point that they could not have afforded sustained therapeutic support without the bursary. Being able to move forward with their lives following episodes of violence, trauma, PTSD, and addiction were the main benefits for each of these recipients.
Other recipients described themselves as being able to receive specialized training in the form of courses and/or programs of study. These were often geared not just towards their own advancement but would also provide them with the qualifications to help others who experienced similar circumstances.