On Friday October 12th 2018 Odyssey House hosted it’s second annual Evening of Empowerment. We had over 200 members of the Grande Prairie Community in attendance, celebrating the work we do at Odyssey House and learning how to make an impact in shifting the needle towards ending gender-based violence!
Odyssey House supported the Grande Prairie Friendship Center this pasted October by attending the Sisters in Spirit Memorial Walk & Candle Light Vigil. This event is meant to honor the lives of the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, support grieving families with opportunities for healing, and create movement for social change.
Odyssey House hosted our annual AGM on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2018 from 11:30 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. The report took place at ATB Enterprise Centre
“Equality” a mother of three contacted Odyssey House Crisis Line. Odyssey House Crisis Intervention workers assisted the woman in developing a safety plan to leave the relationship over a period of time so as to not alert the abuser.
“Equality” had two teenage children and had been a client of Odyssey House and the Community Support program for several years. She had left her abuser a few times, but would return to the relationship, hoping for a change in her circumstances.
On Thursday September 21st 2018 Shelley Tunke- Smith received the provincial Alberta Volunteer of the Year award for 2018! She was presented with the award and recognized for her work at the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters AGM in Edmonton Alberta.
On Friday, September 14th this year we had our Annual Odyssey House Sunrise House Golf Tournament.
“Equality” had an early delivery due to domestic violence arrived at Odyssey House Emergency Shelter with her newborn baby.
These last few months the Odyssey House Team along with some members of the community have been working hard to build a Natural Outdoor Playscape. This was designed to be a peaceful and happy space for the women and children to enjoy. In total we received $11,000 in donations from community members and organizations. Saturday, June 16th, 2018 Odyssey House started construction with “Telus Day of Giving”. Telus brought in 20 volunteers, along with members of the community and staff to assemble the large construction pieces. Over the next few weeks the space grew to include; a hammock, children’s trauma bird nest, beautiful flagstone path ways, water fountain, pergola, children’s mud pie making station, wood block station, sandbox, secondary seating area, and pallet couch.
Odyssey House was honored to attend the third Annual Healing Hearts Homeless Memorial that took place at Muskoseepi Park on May 31st, 2018. The purpose of this event was to bring awareness to people experiencing homelessness within the Grande Prairie.
“People experiencing homelessness love passionately and grieve as deeply as those who have a stable home. Their deaths can go unnoticed as there may not be recognition that the cause of death was related to the state of being homeless,” – Katherine Schmidt
