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
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.