Women’s Outreach Program: A Safe Place for Women

“It’s so important to have a ‘women’s only’ space at the Centre. We see women who are dealing with issues of domestic abuse or sexual abuse; many have a history in the sex trade. These are issues that women may only feel comfortable discussing within safe settings,” explains Sarah, a counsellor at the Dr. Peter Centre and co-facilitator of the Dr. Peter Centre’s Women’s Outreach program. The Women’s Outreach program was launched in 2010 through a grant from the MAC AIDS Fund.

“The women at the Centre face the same challenges that women everywhere do – women are generally the caretakers of their partners and children – but their lives are complicated by the fact that they are also coping with poverty, homelessness, addiction and mental health issues in addition to having HIV/AIDS,” says Jen, the program’s other co-facilitator and a nurse at the Dr. Peter Centre.

“We started the group so that women could have a safe place where they could share their experience and realize that they’re not alone,” says Sarah.

For Jen, giving women the tools to manage their health care is the goal of the program: “Most of the women we see are very independent and used to taking care of themselves. They don’t ask for help, so we reach out and encourage them to be actively involved in their own health care.”

The program’s dynamic format reflects the innovative model of care at the Dr. Peter Centre. “The range of sessions we’ve done for the women’s program is incredible,” says Sarah. We’ve done therapeutic art, mindfulness programs, education sessions on women’s support services, and had group discussions on domestic violence. Each group session has an
end unto itself, but fundamentally it’s about building trust and engaging women in their health care.”

Generously funded through