Indigenous group creates safety equipment library
A local group is hoping to deter predators by loaning out safety equipment for Indigenous women, youth, and two-spirited people.
Children First Society Executive Director Diandra Powderhorn says people considered at high risk of being abducted or harmed could soon get access to a library of safety equipment.
“Indigenous people are at a higher risk of being targeted,” Powderhorn said in an interview with CTV News.
She is collecting donated body cameras, door jams, and GPS trackers to loan out.
They will loan out some of the equipment collected on Friday after the Every Child Matters walk ends at the Manitoba Legislative Building.
“We do have a few cameras out in the community already for the high-risk members.”
Statistics Canada says six in 10 Indigenous women will have experienced some form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime. It says homicide rates are five times higher for Indigenous women than rates for non-Indigenous women across Canada.
The group is hoping the equipment will act as a deterrent for people considering harming Indigenous women, youth, or two-spirited people.
“We want to try to make a difference before these things happen,” Powderhorn said. "We are hoping that predators out there will see this and think twice."
Winnipeg Police Service Superintendent Bonnie Emerson says they engage with community organizations that search for people with unknown whereabouts or work with those who are vulnerable on a regular basis.
“You absolutely should not have to wait for something to happen for support but that’s again where police services partner with community organizations where there is safety planning,” Emerson said. “What we are doing is hopefully sharing information that empowers those organizations to work with the individuals that work with the women directly in a safe and trauma-informed way.”
Darryl Contois walks Winnipeg streets every day – volunteering to look for people out of contact with loved ones.
“This is our city. This is the city that we love,” Contois said, “We got to work together.”
He says many Indigenous people often turn to him when they lose contact.
“A lot of people would rather talk to somebody that's not a police officer.”
He says he will work with authorities and share information – but says his approach is what sets him apart.
"All it is - is about closure and helping that family find their loved one.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.