December • 2023
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Breaking the Cycle: The Assaulted Women’s Helpline Empowering Women Across Ontario On November 4th, 1985, the Assaulted Women’s Helpline (AWHL) answered its first call. In their first year, they answered an incredible 5,000 calls across the GTA. Over one million calls later, AWHL has grown to serve women across the province and beyond.
The AWHL provides help and support to women across Ontario 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With telephone and TTY crisis line counselling, online counselling, safety planning, emotional support, information, and referrals in over 200 languages, the Helpline is
© PEXELS/ANDREA PIACQUADIO
often the first point of contact for abused women, especially for those whose vulnerability is exacerbated by isolation, language barriers, or disability. Women call the Helpline for many reasons. Some are seeking information or would like a referral to a local agency. Others are in need of emotional support or require a safety plan, while some callers need immediate crisis assistance. All are met with compassion and respect by trained counsellors who can help a woman look at her situation and explore the options available to her. AWHL counsellors answer more than 90,000 calls annually, but we know many more women need our services—some may not be aware that AWHL exists or may not even realize that they are experiencing abuse. It is difficult to ask for help if you do not realize that what you are experiencing is abuse. Not all abuse is physical, and
most abusive relationships do not start out that way. Intimate partner violence (IPV) encompasses a range of behaviours that one person in the relationship uses to control, dominate, or exert power over their partner. It can involve physical violence, sexual abuse, emotional manipulation, and controlling behaviours. IPV can take many forms, including emotional, financial, digital, physical, and sexual abuse. At its core, IPV is about power and control, and abusers will use a variety of tactics, including manipulation, isolation, intimidation, and threats to exert control over their partner. These behaviours can go unnoticed at first, but their impact can be profound, resulting in emotional trauma, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and a sense of helplessness. Typically, there is a cycle of violence that is perpetuated in abusive relationships—tension builds, an act of violence ensues, and a period of remorse begins,
followed by a promise to change. But the change rarely happens, so tensions mount once again, but the cycle is shorter each time, and the violence intensifies. Warning signs that you may be in an abusive relationship include making it difficult for you to see family or friends, criticizing the clothes you wear, demanding to know where you are, putting you down in front of others, using physical force or threatening you. AWHL’s website includes an interactive questionnaire to help women, friends, and family better understand the types of abuse and the signs to look for at awhl.org. The Assaulted Women’s Helpline is available 24/7 to assist callers facing a wide range of challenges. Our counsellors provide a lifeline to thousands of women when they need it most. Often, a call to the Helpline can and does save a woman’s life. If you or someone you know needs help, call 1-866-863-0511.
Matthew Perry's Loved Ones Set Up Charity in His Name Matthew Perry's loved ones have set up a charity in his name to help others battling addiction issues. The 'Friends' actor—who passed away October 28, 2023, aged 54—spent years battling drug and alcohol addiction and estimated he'd spent around $9 million on his efforts to get sober. Now his lasting legacy will be The Matthew Perry Foundation, which will aim to provide others with the help they need to get clean. A statement posted on the charity's new website explained: "The Matthew Perry Foundation is the realization of Matthew's enduring commitment to helping others struggling with the disease of addiction. It will honour his legacy and be guided by his own words and experiences and driven by his passion for making a difference in as many lives as possible." The website also features a quote from Perry, which reads: "When I die, I don't want 'Friends' to be the first thing
that's mentioned—I want helping others to be the first thing that's mentioned. And I'm going to live the rest of my life proving that. Addiction is far too powerful for anyone to defeat alone. But together, one day at a time, we can beat it down." The foundation is sponsored and maintained by the National Philanthropic Trust, a public charity that provides philanthropic expertise to donors, foundations, and financial institutions. To support Perry’s namesake foundation, fans are being asked to make donations to the charity through the website. Previous reports suggested Perry had been working on plans to launch his own charity prior to his death. ETOnline.com reported the actor was "working on expanding his work with people struggling with addiction through the creation of a foundation." The website added Perry was "focused on helping others battling the same addiction issues he faced throughout his
life," but it was "unclear how far into the process of creating the foundation" he was at the time of his passing.
He had previously attempted to help others by turning his former home in Malibu, California into a sober living
CAST MEMBER MATTHEW PERRY ATTENDS THE PREMIERE OF THE FILM "17 AGAIN" © REUTERS/PHIL MCCARTEN/FILE PHOTO
facility which was dubbed the Perry House, but it closed in 2015 due to high operating costs. Perry has been open about his struggles with addiction, sharing the story of his battle to get sober in his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing. Speaking on the 'Q with Tom Power' podcast in November 2022, Perry explained he was determined to use his experiences to help others. He said: "I would like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker. "The best thing about me, bar none, is if somebody comes up to me and says, 'I can't stop drinking. Can you help me?' I can say yes and follow up and do it. "And I've said this for a long time: when I die, I don't want 'Friends' to be the first thing that's mentioned—I want helping others to be the first thing that's mentioned. And I'm going to live the rest of my life proving that." (Source: Reuters)
