Strathcona County will be focusing on preventing family violence this month.
The county declared that November will be dedicated to spreading awareness about and preventing family violence.
“Bringing awareness to Family Violence Prevention Month is an important responsibility for Strathcona County,” said Mayor Rod Frank. “By sparking conversations with our family, friends, and neighbours, we can help bring awareness to this tough subject and provide help to those in need.”
The theme of the month will be 'Reach Out. Speak Out." and encourages people in the community to become familiar with healthy and unhealthy relationship dynamics.
By understanding those dynamics, the hope is that people will be able to recognize when somebody needs help and can come to their aid.
Holly Reeve, a counselling supervisor at Strathcona County Family and Community Services, says family violence comes in a variety of different forms.
“These last few years have shone a light on a lot of issues that our residents are dealing with concerning family violence,” says Holly Reeve. “Raising awareness on how to spot the signs of family violence and where to get help is the first step in getting support.”
An in-person workshop to help people learn about recognizing domestic violence and its impact will be held on Thursday (Nov. 3) at West River's Edge Pavillion in Fort Saskatchewan from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
In 2021, Strathcona County RCMP reported 820 incidents that involved people in intimate relationships.
For a complete list of resources regarding family violence, you can visit the county's website here.