Category Archives: informed choices

Honouring Maria Catoppa: Surrey Women’s Centre Presents to City Council on Preventing Domestic Homicide

Posted on by
Reply

On Monday May 30 at 4:45 PM, join us in the City of Surrey Council Chamber or watch live online at http://www.surrey.ca/city-government/6993.aspx as Surrey Women’s Centre and Smiles and Laughter Entertainment present The Honest Truth to City Council.

In her Surrey home, on the morning of November 24, 2009, Maria Catroppa, devoted mother of four was murdered by her husband. Before her death, the warning signs of domestic violence were present; however, her family did not know that their mother was in danger. Aligned with the primary objectives of the City of Surrey’s Crime Reduction Strategy, our project entitled The Honest Truth is a social media campaign to raise awareness about domestic violence.

Its primary goal is twofold:

  1. To  increase the popular understanding of domestic violence and high risk factors leading to serious bodily injury or death; and,
  2. To increase victims’ knowledge of and access to critical resources in the City of Surrey.

Key activities of the campaign include the production of an online video public service announcement featuring one of Maria Catroppa’s 4 children, an  interactive website with links to Surrey resources and social media tools such as Facebook and YouTube.

The Honest Truth honors the life of Maria Catroppa by helping other victims of domestic violence. It  will also assist victims and their families to identify risk factors for domestic violence and access critical local resources. It is our hope that the campaign will help to create a culture of support in the City of Surrey for victims of domestic violence and their loved ones.

The  campaign will be launched on November 24, 2011, the anniversary of Maria Catroppa’s death.

Hope you can join us!

useful election infos…

Posted on by
Reply

hiya internets!

as you all know, we have a federal election coming up and i’m trying desperately to help spread the word: VOTE! it seems that most of us are not engaged with canadian politics because the system and people within it (politicians) are:

a: boring
b: not relevant to our needs
c: farcical and deceptive

can we change this? i THINK so!! how? by educating ourselves and showing up may 2nd.

here’s a few sites that i have found helpful, and i think you will too!!!

project democracy: this site “is a tool to help you determine if there is a way to “amp up” your vote and stop a Harper majority. By using a riding by riding election prediction model based on the most up to date public opinion research, we can tell you which Party is best positioned to defeat the Conservative in your riding. Just enter your postal code in the box to the right.”

shit harper did: love it. visit this site and see a random fact each time you refresh your page on some of the horrible @#$% harper has done to our country while in office. still not convinced? click on the external link below each fact and read about it from a third-party site.

AFN 2011 federal election priorities: what about the First Nation’s perspective? let’s look to the original Peoples of this land for wisdom on who to vote for!! This article outlines the AFN’s priorities, as presented by Hereditary Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, in the impending election.

catch 22 campaign: “Catch 22 Harper Conservatives is a grassroots campaign to provide real consequences for the Conservatives’ disrespect of voters and Parliament. The objective of the campaign is to organize voters into an electoral force that will contribute to the defeat of the Conservative government and raise awareness about Canada’s democratic deficit.”

wild salmon people: still not convinced? prefer a more eco-based informed vote? check out the “vote for salmon” campaign and read about which candidates are committed to conserving our province’s most treasured food resource.

vote compass: don’t agree with all my harper bashing? want a more neutral way to decide what party is most aligned with your personal interests? check out the cbc’s vote compass, a tool developed by political scientists that will give you the answer you need by asking a few generic questions.

ok folks, that’s about it for now. hopefully you will find these resources as useful as i have.