Repercussions that last a lifetime
As a psychotherapist for many years and then in the last few years as a social worker, I've seen first-hand the deep hurt and devastation that chidren feel when their attachment to their parents is compromised.
When a child is removed from his home, the sensation of abandonment over time changes to discouragement, then resignation, and may times, to rage, therefore potentially perpetuating the cycle of violence.
When a child is removed from his home, the sensation of abandonment over time changes to discouragement, then resignation, and may times, to rage, therefore potentially perpetuating the cycle of violence.
Violence leaves traces
After they have experienced violence in their homes, children live recklessly following a pattern of self-destructiveness. Our streets are full of children who live recklessly following a pattern of self-destructiveness when parents are overwhelmed by the weight of their roles as teachers, protectors and providers. In the context of violence, it becomes almost impossible to play the parental roles in a way that makes sense for the mothers.Children cannot be expected to grow with outstanding values
When women experience violence, their heart is discouraged and it is most difficult to care for their children in a manner that is not self-involved. When a parent cannot walk his children through their young lives and be a visual representation of what a good person is expected to do, children cannot be expected to grow with outstanding values and they risk more heartache and desolation.
It should not matter where you reside to live a good life when you are a child
The reasons for violence and abuse are complex but they are generally related to the effects of
poverty, high rates of unemployment, substance abuse, overcrowding and other socio-economic
factors. Addressing the issue of domestic violence and abuse is a priority for this project because not only are the women affected but even more so their children.
Minority indigenous and Inuit children are more at risk than other Canadian children of living in substandard housing, of living in poverty and on welfare. Poverty greatly impacts all children: it has an impact on their education, their health and their behavior.
Many communities across Northern Quebec do not have a safe shelter for women, and often the homes of family and friends are also overcrowded.
When mothers who are financially dependent upon abusive spousal partners face losing their ability to provide house, food and losing custody of their children to child services, they will be reluctant to disclose their victimization. Not surprisingly, this increases their reluctance to seek help for themselves or their children.
A plane ticket to another community may cost thousands of dollars, which is out of reach for most women particularly in times of crisis. For Inuit women, this can mean there is literally nowhere to go to find safety, and many women have lost their lives to family violence. Some have hit skid row after coming south with nowhere to go either. When that happens, the lives of their children are turned upside down.
Minority indigenous and Inuit children are more at risk than other Canadian children of living in substandard housing, of living in poverty and on welfare. Poverty greatly impacts all children: it has an impact on their education, their health and their behavior.
Many communities across Northern Quebec do not have a safe shelter for women, and often the homes of family and friends are also overcrowded.
When mothers who are financially dependent upon abusive spousal partners face losing their ability to provide house, food and losing custody of their children to child services, they will be reluctant to disclose their victimization. Not surprisingly, this increases their reluctance to seek help for themselves or their children.
A plane ticket to another community may cost thousands of dollars, which is out of reach for most women particularly in times of crisis. For Inuit women, this can mean there is literally nowhere to go to find safety, and many women have lost their lives to family violence. Some have hit skid row after coming south with nowhere to go either. When that happens, the lives of their children are turned upside down.
What one experiences, all may experience
Children are caught in a cycle of actions and reactions, based in anger or despair, drawing them in and affectively continuing the cycle into the future.
No Child Should Have to Take the Long Way Home is a grassroot initiative to help children in need of loving care, of a protective and stable environment to meet their basic needs in a safe house/respite home in their own community.
Children, mothers, families and communities are the object of this project No Child Should Have to Take the Long Way Home. After all, every child is born with the right to have a better chance at a life free from abuse and violence. Children belong to their community. When they are removed not only from their families, but from their community, children lose out on being raised by their own families, in their own communities. As a result, there are increased numbers of Inuit children in child and foster care.
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