Creating Community Partnerships
CWHC and the Cowichan Women Against Violence Society have partnered with the Cowichan Primary Care Network (PCN) to offer healthcare services directly to the residents of Cedar Branches, a low-barrier emergency shelter for self-identified women in Duncan, and other street-involved women. One day each week, a nurse practitioner sees these clients, who might otherwise have difficulty accessing healthcare services.
Through the Canadian Association of Community Health Centres (CACHC), CWHC was able to raise funds to support a “System Navigator” position. This position provides support to the clients, to assist them in overcoming barriers to accessing care, which may include fear based on previous trauma or stigma based on their lived experiences.
Access to on-site healthcare at the shelter, and support for accessing follow-up recommendations from the nurse practitioner has created dramatic change for the women. You can read stories of impact here. CACHC has also featured this project on one of its recent podcasts, which can be found on their website.
Funding for this project, generously provided by the TD Ready philanthropic program, was received in August 2023. The project wraps up in July 2024, but CWHC and CWAV are committed to continue to offer the services beyond this timeframe, because of the positive impacts of both the direct access to trauma-informed healthcare, but also the systems navigation component which supports followup for and with clients to enable better healthcare outcomes.
Addressing Period Poverty in Cowichan
Testing approaches to meeting the needs of vulnerable women in the Cowichan region
Period Poverty means not being able to get menstrual products and hygiene opportunities when they are needed that are of your choosing, fit your body and your needs, and are of good quality, affordable, sustainable, and in the amount you need.
Period poverty is a community issue. Increasing access to menstrual products for people with limited resources will make Cowichan a healthier place where the needs of its citizens are recognized and addressed. This community-based action research project proposes to explore stigma around menstruation and ways in which products can be more readily made available in the community through working collaboratively with local partners.
See proposal here. Final Report Coming Soon
One way CWHC explored barriers to menstrual equity was through Photovoice, a way to express lived experience of period poverty.
Photography allows an expression of lived experience and creates space for alternate voices in research about social justice issues. The images ground the abstract concepts of menstrual equity and period poverty, by providing concrete examples of how women can be distressed or frustrated by their periods.
Honouring Women’s Voices
Gathering Stories About Health Care Experiences in the Cowichan Valley
In this report, “Honouring Women’s Voices: Gathering stories about health care experiences in the Cowichan Valley," the CWHC research team, including the Advisory Committee, presents knowledge gathered about how women and folks across the LGBTQIA2S+ spectrum in the Cowichan Valley experience the health care system. From May through July 2021, we conducted eight focus groups, each with a different organization serving people in the Cowichan Valley. Additionally, the online survey gathered the views of 258 self-identified women in the region. The report includes their stories, as well as analysis and recommendations.
View full report available here.
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Women’s Lived Experience
Globally, one in three women has experienced sexual abuse or physical violence.
Indigenous women in Canada are 3.5 times more likely to be victims of violence than non-indigenous women.
Women and girls make up 60% of undernourished people worldwide.
Approximately 16 million girls accross the globe aged 15 to 19 give birth each year.
Advocating for appropriate, equitable and quality health care for women.
Supporting women changes lives.
Your donation will go towards supporting and improving the health needs of women in the Cowichan Valley.
Thank you for your generosity.
