Help Candice thrive after violent assault

I met Candice 7 years ago while I was going through a rough time. She was the most supportive, fiercely loyal, ride or die that anyone would ever want in their corner. Anyone who knows her is in awe of her drive to provide for her son Teigan and her zoo of rescue animals. The entire time I have known her she has worked 3, 4, 5 jobs to redefine what being a single mom looks like. She has the warmest heart beneath the tough exterior and when she chooses to love you, she loves you with all she’s got.

Sadly, on Sept 14 her ability to provide was ripped from her grasp through a brutal domestic violence incident that left her clinging to life. Candice spent 5 days in hospital suffering from severe blood loss, a concussion, a fractured orbital bone, strangulation complications and severed radial nerve, tricep and bicep. Complications from the injuries have paralyzed her left arm which means that currently she is unable to return to work as a nurse (a job which she loves and prides herself on). It is possible that the injuries sustained may keep her from returning to nursing for the rest of her life which is devastating not just financially but also emotionally. Due to lost wages (not just regular pay but also the numerous hours of overtime she relied on monthly), it is possible that Candice will have to leave the home she has worked so hard to maintain for her son Teigan while he completes his last year of high school as well as surrender all the things she loves in this life (her horses and dogs). It is devastating to me to watch a woman who has worked harder than most of us ever will be on the brink of losing it through no fault of her own.

Also devastating are the stats regarding domestic violence in Canada:

• 44% of women aged 15 and older have reported some kind of abuse in their intimate partner relationship.

• Every six days, a woman in Canada is murdered by her intimate partner.

This is not just a call to help a dear friend. This is also a call for us to stand collectively and push back against a system that does not recognize or value the struggle almost half of all women in our country have or will experience in this lifetime. Where are the supports to shift these women from surviving to thriving?

I have spent countless hours searching for grants, compensation or funds that might be offered to a survivor of domestic violence only to learn that these funds were removed by the Ontario government in 2019. Currently Ontario is the only province that has NOT declared intimate partner violence an epidemic and as such is only offering short term support for survivors (emergency shelter, crime scene clean up, short term counselling, etc.). There are no options left to keep Candice and Teigan in the life she has worked tirelessly to create. I ask that you dig deep and offer what you can to help remove the financial stressors for Candice so she can move toward healing her mind, body, and spirit.

I want, with all that I’ve got, to see Candice thrive again. Asking for help is not something Candice has ever easily surrendered to. She has always just figured it out on her own even if that meant working without breaks for months in a row. This time, I am going to ask for help for her. She needs the support of the collective to get through this.