Yes. The survivors have told us that they need barrier-free access to services, and to the services where it's safe for them to have these conversations. This is why, when you're looking at indigenous women's agencies and when you're going to an indigenous women's agency that has cultural programs and supports that have been designed and developed by you, for you, that's the change piece right there. They're more able to talk together to build that community of care, that community of support.
The biggest part of our program in what we do is that we walk the healing journey with the woman. We don't walk it for her. We're here as support, and as long-term support, because for so many of the women and girls who we work with, sometimes in the system you can work with a woman or girl for maybe only 48 hours or 72 hours. They put these barriers of time on it. For us, it's, “No, we're still walking that healing journey with them for one to two years, for however long they need us to be there with them.”
If you can just imagine that somebody you know has come to you and is experiencing this, it hits you. It changes you, because every single one of these women and girls is a beloved mother, daughter, auntie and/or sister, and just being able to care for them, to believe their stories...because there are many stories where systems are not believing the violence that these girls are facing. We start off by first and foremost believing that their story is their story is their story, and that's their truth.