It's extremely important to have male allyship. I've been around for a long time. I'm an old feminist, and back in the day, I did not think that men would ever be part of the solution to ending violence against women. Today I believe they are the solution to ending violence against women.
I believe we're one of the only shelters who has hired a male. I currently have three males working for us. They are in our education program. They are out in the schools teaching young men how to be good men, which I believe is important. Beyond that, we engage men in other ways, in fundraising for example.
Some of you around this table might know Jerry Dias. Jerry is the head of the Unifor union. He walks every year in our Hope in High Heels walk. To date, Jerry has raised around $300,000 for Halton Women's Place. He's not only raising awareness, but helping us raise funds, not being the bystander, being the guy who says, “That's not okay”. That's the awareness that I'm trying to raise with men in our community.