PRESS RELEASE – “What can I do to help the Families of Missing and Murdered Aboriginal women and girls?”

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Community Resource Guide: “What can I do to help the Families of Missing and Murdered Aboriginal women and girls?”

January 31, 2012 (Ottawa, ON) - The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) is pleased to announce the release of a new product entitled, “Community Resource Guide: What can I do to help the Families of Missing and Murdered Aboriginal women and girls?” The Community Resource Guide (CRG) is a plain-language publication that has been designed to assist educators, health and social providers and other allies with the necessary information and tools to work in a culturally safe and sensitive manner with families who have lost a loved one.

Since 2005, NWAC has been leading the way in research and community outreach on the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls. “NWAC’s ongoing work with family members who are missing or have been murdered has revealed a need to centralize the toolkits, factsheets and violence prevention materials that NWAC has produced over the years,” explains NWAC President Jeannette Corbiere Lavell.
The CRG contains a poster, three fact sheets, 10 toolkits and other resources for educators as well as a CD for easy access to electronic files for printing and distribution. Some of the topics addressed in the CRG are: “Sisters In Spirit Vigils”, “Men as Effective Allies”, “Unlocking the Mystery of Media Relations”, “Navigating Victim Services”, and “Safety Measures for Aboriginal Women”.
NWAC encourages the use of the CRG for violence prevention activities, community support, capacity building and to promote healthy relationships.
The CRG will be available in February 2012 and available online at www.nwac.ca.