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I enjoyed a wonderful lunch with Joan, Matron of The Well, where she shared with me her reflections of The Well. Joan has been involved with The Well for over 10 years along with her expansive career in social services and as a community activist.

Joan answered the question: “Why are you involved with The Well?”

My involvement with The Well is focused on two levels: front-line service and function in the larger system.

The front-line service can be extended to the role of the Management Board. The Well is more than just offering food; it is about building a community, about belonging. It is built on the idea of sharing, not just resources but the sharing of ourselves. It is to show that “someone gives a damn as to what happens to a woman”. The Well aims to be non-judgemental and tries to minimize the power differential between staff and participants through personal sharing.

The role of The Well in the larger social services sector is to be an advocate and demonstrate the values of social justice but not to be a charity. We are to hold the government accountable in their role to provide social services to the vulnerable and marginalized in our society. Over many years, we have witnessed the dismantling of the welfare state with serious repercussions to the people that we ‘serve’. Insufficient funding and funding cuts suggest that this human need is not important.

Knowing the reality of poverty and marginalization, The Well offers community and dignity which is important “in being human…in knowing that we are in this together”.

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Rosemary began as a Arts & Crafts Facilitator, but was always ready to help out anywhere she was needed. Every Monday morning, Rosemary woke up early to bake fresh muffins for the Women of the Well, and to help with making coffee, tea and lunch.

Rosemary Watkins died peacefully at St. Vincent Hospital on Sunday, 28 April 2013, but will always be remembered as a bright and shiny star, whose thoughtfulness and endless devotion to caring for others is truly awe-inspiring!

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As a longstanding volunteer, mentor, friend, shepherdess and “number cruncher” (i.e. accountant) at The Well, Beth began as one of the visionaries of The Anglican Diocesan ministries serving women, supporting the development of the emergency women’s shelter and The Well.

With her gentle spirit and unconditional love, Beth is considered one of the founding mothers of The Well, who has offered countless hugs, words of encouragement, mentoring and support to the many Women of the Well over the past 25 years.

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Guests get a big ‘Well-come’ as The Well re-opens at St. John’s

By Art Babych

Another chapter in the 21-year history of The Well/La Source began Nov. 7 as about 100 people turned out to celebrate the facility’s re-opening in the basement of St. John the Evangelist Church in Ottawa following six months of major renovations.

Among those in attendance were civic and church dignitaries, staff and volunteers, and women who come to the facility for support and validation, some of whom are homeless or at risk of being homeless.

The Well/La Source is a community ministry of the diocese. As a Day Program, it serves about 150 women and children each day.

The renovation and expansion program, which cost over $1.25 million, started last spring follow- ing a successful application to the City of Ottawa for a grant of just over a half million dollars. St. John’s share of the cost was $750,000.

As the facility in the church basement was being renovated, The Well functioned from temporary quarters at Bell Street United Church.

As reported in the June issue of Crosstalk, some of the facilities, including the dining area, kitchen, lounge-resource centre, solitude room, washrooms and a meeting room, are to be shared between The Well and St. John’s. However, The Well will have its own office area, showers-laundry, storage areas, food storage areas, computer room, and clothing distribution section. Five areas will be set aside for the exclusive use of the church.

Councilor Dianne Holmes and Fran Skidmore, representing the women who use the facility, were cheered as they cut a ribbon at the re-opening of The Well in St. John’s.

Ms. Holmes, who was praised for her support of the Day Program, said The Well “is a wonderful organization supported by many groups.” She added, “The women are always welcome and I try to spread the word as much as I can.”

“We have moved into a space that has surpassed all of our expectations,” said Janet McInnes, a staff member at The Well. “It is proof of a hopeful future for women and children who come here each day.” She was speaking in place of Pat Connolly, the Director of the Well, who was unable to attend the celebration because of a serious illness in her family.

Before moving into St. John’s, The Well was a 6-year-old fledgling program involving 35-50 women a day, two staff, many volunteers and very little else, Janet said. “By the year 2000 we had begged borrowed and elbowed our way into pretty much each corner of this basement.

Here we are on Nov. 7, 2005, celebrating the culmination of a series of events that made our vision a reality,” she said. She also thanked the facility’s many supporters and donors, including the Anglican Foundation, which donated $13,200 for a walk-in refrigerator and freezer. There were also many private donations, said Janet.

“It has truly been a collective effort, equipping our centre with the very best of everything,” she said. “We have a centre reflecting more than we ever dreamed of.”

She said there had also been numerous financial donations towards the purchase of many dining tables and chairs, and significant donations towards furnishings in the lounge.

Janet also acknowledged the support of volunteers. “Many of our volunteers are anonymous but they do not go unnoticed,” she said.

Archdeacon Pat Johnston, representing Bishop Peter Coffin, who was unable to attend the event, called the cooperation between The Well and St. John’s “a marvellous partnership to create this wonderful welcoming place, Not only that, but on time and on budget.” To all who made that happen, she said, “congratulations from the diocese.”

Canon Garth Bulmer of St. John’s said the congregation is “delighted to have The Well back.” He said that both St. John’s and The Well have been “labour- ing under great difficulty because of the condition” of the facility before it was renovated. The renovation and expansion program resulted in an extra 4,000 square feet of space being added to the facility.

Garth also praised the “wonderful cooperation” on the project by the government, city, contractor and church.

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Self-publishing project empowering for women of The Well

“We did it, girls!” someone called out to the accompaniment of cheers and laughter as women of The Well/La Source celebrated the completion of a self-produced gratitude journal of drawings, stories, and poems done by the women themselves.

Mj Dann, a woman of The Well, got the idea for the pocket journal and helped produce it, dedicating it to Well Director Pat Connolly, in appreciation for all she in- spires in the women. Proceeds from the journal booklets, which cost $12 each, go to The Well.

At the celebration Oct. 1. where Women of The Well were joined by staff, volunteers and visitors, Pat said the project has been one of the biggest, most empowering experiences for the women of The Well, a community ministry of the Diocese of Ottawa which is located in the basement of St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church, Ottawa.

A woman of The Well, Barbara Bareham, said publishing the gratitude journal sends a clear message that women who live in poverty have the initiative, perseverance, and determination to survive.

MJ told the gathering. which included Councillor Diane Holmes and Alderman Elizabeth Arnold, that she came to The Well a year ago “when I was really down and out.” She credited other women at the day centre with ideas for a tee-shirt and for sending a copy of the journal to talk show hostess Oprah Winfrey. MJ, who produced the journal with the help of volunteer Andrew Condly, hopes she can develop a small business for such work.

Two hundred books have been produced by The Well both for fund-raising and to show that such ministries can try to help themselves. using their clients’ talents. The women of The Well hope this effort will help convince the government that funding for the day centre is an in- vestment in women’s futures.

The gratitude journal may be purchased for $12 a copy at The Well, Elgin at Somerset, Ottawa (tel: 594-8861), at nearby Perfect Books, 280 Elgin St., and Pretorias, in Perth.

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‘The Well’: an alternative for women

by Sarah Gilbert

On a bitter winter day, just after lunchtime, the church basement is filled with women talk- ing and the warm smell of food and coffee.

The Well, the only women’s drop-in centre in Centretown, will celebrate its fourth anniversary at the end of February. With 30 or 40 drop-ins a day and new ideas for programs, the centre is getting stronger and more innovative all the time.

New things at The Well include a weight loss program several women are organizing for themselves. The centre is also planning to show films once a month for entertainment.

The Well is located in the basement of St. Luke’s Anglican Church on Somerset Street. Sally Eaton, a female priest, opened the centre in 1984 to provide a haven for women who were feeling lonely or isolated.

Evelyne Uniat is a young woman who has been going to The Well for a month. “I came because I saw the sign on the door. I wanted to meet people and I wanted to help people. I was new, I just got here from Vancouver.”

The centre has two paid coordinators but it’s basically run by volunteers.

“Most of the women who come here help out,” says volunteer treasurer Beth Cook. “It’s their place.”

Cook says The Well tries to operate like a democratic family. The women decide what they’re interested in and the coordinators organize the programs that are wanted. There have been speakers on health problems, addiction, menopause and non-traditional occupations for women.

“Women can come here and make friends, put their lives back together, get in touch with a training program, or go back to school,” says Kendra Forbes, a co-ordinator.

When it first started, The Well occupied only a tiny part of the church and it was only open three days a week. It has now expanded to a much larger area of the basement and is open Monday to Friday and Sunday afternoons. Funding for The Well comes from the region, the province and individual donations.

The centre includes a dining room and a well-equipped kitchen, where the kitchen co-ordinator and volunteers prepare a hot balanced lunch every day. There is also a carpeted common room scattered with chairs and couches and a play area for children.

Women come to The Well to meet people, to get out of the house, to eat a balanced meal, to help and be helped.”

Cook says that although a number of the women are in the low-income bracket, “there’s no restriction. All women are welcome to come and see if it’s a place for them… Women from all sorts of different backgrounds come here,”

Ellen Savicky has been coming for a year. Washing pots and pans from lunch, she says, “I come because I work with my friends. We work together. We’re women.”

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