Nova Vita’s annual Hope for the Holidays campaign was back this year, running throughout November and December to support those experiencing domestic violence and homelessness.
Nova Vita Domestic Violence Prevention Service has been serving Brantford and the County of Brant for over 40 years. They provide trauma-informed emergency shelter, outreach support, and counselling services to individuals and families experiencing abuse, as well as counselling for individuals who have caused harm in their relationships.
Anne Herbison-Ruddell, Community Development Manager for Nova Vita, said the campaign is designed to connect the holiday season generosity of the community to the clients they support, which includes women and children who are staying in their 33-bed emergency shelter over the holidays.
“Imagine having to leave the home that you have lived in, and you’re staying in a one-bedroom with your kids,” Herbison-Ruddell said. “We have families that have three, four, and five children sometimes, and you want to make sure that they have a visit from Santa on Christmas morning.”
One of the first things the campaign does is make sure that the children’s wish lists are fulfilled, specific to what they’ve asked for, since “most kids still believe in Santa,” Herbison-Ruddell said.
The campaign also supports families that are staying in one of their eight transitional support second-stage housing units, as well as individuals and families in the community who have experienced domestic violence and are currently receiving outreach support and counselling from Nova Vita.
“That could be a dad who is currently in our Challenge to Change program that is having trouble financially, struggling financially, and wants to make sure he has some gifts for his kids over the holiday season,” Herbison-Ruddell said. “It could be mom who wants to be able to host a holiday dinner for her family at her new apartment.”
People were able to help with the Hope for the Holidays campaign in one of three ways: making a financial donation, hosting a donation drive, or sponsoring a family by buying specific items on their wish list.
“Financial support helps, because we’re going to put it where we need it the most,” Herbison-Ruddell said.
People were also able to check Nova Vita’s wish list online, to see what items were being asked for by clients before giving to a donation drive. She emphasized the importance of checking to see what was urgently needed before donating.
“Food scarcity is a huge issue right now,” Heribson-Ruddell said. “We buy a gift that we think somebody might like, but the reality is, you can’t eat a Lego set.”
The needs of Nova Vita can also change immensely from one season to the next.
“This month, I think we have more than five children in the shelter that are currently under five and wearing diapers, so we see our grocery bill skyrocket if we don’t have the right sizes in stock for them,” Herbison-Ruddell said.
Three months ago, however, they had five teenagers over the age of 13.
“You can imagine what that did for our grocery bills and our hygiene closet,” she said. “I’ve learned this myself, for the charities that I support, is not to give what I want to give, but to stop and ask, what do you need help with this year?” Herbison-Ruddell said.
“Maybe we wanted to buy that toy for a little girl, but maybe we could feel even better that we are buying a hygiene kit for a girl in grade 10,” she said. “It’s hard enough to navigate high school as a teenager, let alone a teenager living in a women’s shelter because she’s grown up in domestic violence and abuse.”
In addition to collecting things for the holidays, the campaign aims to have a year-long impact.
“Non-perishable foods, water bottles, all of the things that we can take for granted in our own home, we’re gathering those now… hoping that gets us through until at least the summertime,” Herbison-Ruddell said. “The reality is that… the majority of our community, we all seem to focus our giving around the holiday season.”
Several participating local organisations ran toy and donation drives, including Riverview Terrace, Parkway Dentistry, and more. Nova Vita also hosted several scheduled holiday gift drop-offs throughout December, with organizations and individuals dropping off items to be stored in ‘Santa’s Workshop.’ The last donation day was December 20, but monetary donations are still accepted anytime.
Herbison-Ruddell said that Nova Vita is “regularly in awe and full of gratitude for the love and support” they get from the Brantford and County of Brant community.
“It is an incredibly caring community, and we are really proud to be a part of it,” Herbison-Ruddell said. “Santa’s Workshop is packed right now.”
