The Anglican Diocese offers Safe Harbour Outreach Project a New Home
November 2015
The Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador has partnered with Safe Harbour Outreach Project (S.H.O.P.) to provide a new location to operate their human rights-based sex worker advocacy program.
After two years in operation, S.H.O.P. has long outgrown their single office space at the St. John’s Women’s Centre where they now serve over 100 women in the St. John’s area. S.H.O.P.’s human rights-based mission was well-suited to the commitment of the Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador to actively respond to the needs of the broader community.
“The Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador is pleased to partner with Safe Harbour Outreach Project to provide assistance to women in need and others who are vulnerable,” said Bishop Geoffrey Peddle. “This collaboration reflects a wider mission in our church today, which calls us to respond to human need by loving service, to transform unjust structures of society, and to challenge violence of every kind. The Anglican Church is honored that we can assist the work of S.H.O.P. and the St. John’s Women’s Centre by providing a safe place for their work.”
“We celebrate this new partnership that will allow women who do sex work in our city to have a confidential place to come and receive supports and services, as well as a safe space to build community,” said Jenny Wright, Executive Director of the St. John’s Status of Women Council/Women’s Centre. “It is through this kind of creative partnership that we can truly begin to meet the needs of this historically underserved population in our city.”
The new location will remain confidential in order to ensure the safety and privacy of those who access S.H.O.P. and to reduce the stigma sex workers often face when accessing services.
S.H.O.P. serves women for whom sex work is an occupation. They also serve women who are in the industry not by choice, who are wishing to exit. S.H.O.P. supports everyone who identifies as a current or former sex worker.
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Media contacts:
Jenny Wright, Executive Director
St. John’s Status of Women Council/St. John’s Women’s Centre
709-753-0220
jenny@sjwomenscentre.ca
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Geoff Peddle
Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador
709-576-6697
geoffpeddle48@gmail.com
Diocese to offer up to $25,000 to aid in Refugee Crisis
September 2015
Click to read Bishop’s Pastoral Letter on Refugees
In a Pastoral Letter to the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland & Labrador read out in every Parish on Sunday September 27, Bishop Geoff Peddle called upon all parishes to engage in a process of discernment with respect to what role each parish would be willing and able to play in refugee sponsorship and support.
In order to assist parishes and church groups in this discernment, the Bishop has directed that up to $25,000 be made available immediately from a recent and unexpected gift to the Diocese to assist any parish or group of parishes that wish to bring a refugee family here.
The Diocese has also set up a Working Group to advise the Bishop in a response to this crisis. The Working Group has recommended that the Diocese not seek to become a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) but rather partner with the Association for New Canadians (ANC) to sponsor refugees. The ANC already holds SAH status and is willing to enter into a co-sponsorship arrangement with parishes and other diocesan groups. Working in partnership with the ANC will also give us access to the Blended Visa-Office Referred (BVOR) program, which is the fastest and easiest way to sponsor a refugee family. In light of the urgency of the current crisis, such a partnership will enable the Diocese to more effectively and efficiently respond to the events unfolding in our world today.
Those parishes seeking assistance in funding a refugee family from the $25,000 are asked to contact the Bishop directly in writing indicating their intentions. The money that the Diocese is making available can be used by a single party or shared by a group of parishes.
Northeast Avalon Furniture Bank
August 2015
The Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, through its Society and Justice Committee and with leadership provided by the Church of the Ascension, has embarked on an idea to form a furniture bank that would serve the northeast Avalon region of Newfoundland.
The Diocese is taking the step to organize and launch the Furniture Bank, which has been identified in the community sector as a growing need but one that no existing organization has the resources or mandate to fill. The Society and Justice Committee, through a Furniture Bank Task Force, intends to commit three to five years to forming the Furniture Bank and overseeing its evolution into a registered charity that will ultimately operate independent of, but with continued support from, the Anglican Church.
The Task Force’s first goal is to establish and offer a Furniture Bank as a one-year pilot project from the period September 01, 2015 to August 31, 2016. Upon conclusion of this one-year project, the Task Force will assess the success of the Furniture Bank and establish a plan for a more permanent operating structure.
The Task Force has identified the following guiding statements for the Furniture Bank:
Mission – To match those who have furniture to give with those who need it.
Vision- To become a self-sufficient social enterprise that helps people living in poverty or adverse conditions to overcome the barriers to basic life needs.
Values
- We are a collaborative community effort, building partnerships for the betterment of those who need our help.
- We seek opportunities to share the society and justice stories in our community.
- We operate as a no-shame giving and receiving community.
