Editorial: Continuing the connection

Every now and then, for special occasions at the Bay St. George Women’s Centre, Joyce Hancock drops by.

She was one of the founding members of the Bay St. George Status of Women Council back when it started in 1985 and was incorporated in 1987. For the first 11 years of the organization, she worked as executive director.

Hancock was back in Stephenville last week to help the Bay St. George Status of Women Council celebrate the burning of the mortgage, which she said was taken out in 1991.

It was a big milestone for the organization, which is still very active today – some 27 years later.

The organization actually came into being in 1985 as a steering committee and got incorporated in 1987. Up until 1991, the group operated out of a rental property on Main Street in Stephenville.

While not where they would like to be yet, there have been some great strides over the years when it comes to equality and anti-violence, which Hancock said fighting for was seen as radical when they started out.

Hancock recognized that today its acceptable when women speak out and now seen as work that needs to be done. She said it’s now embedded in the Bay St. George community and that’s good to see.

After leaving Stephenville, she served for 10 years as the president of the Provincial Advisory Council on the Status of Women, an external agency that monitors government action and provides independent advice and lobbies on behalf of the women of Newfoundland and Labrador.

With her sister Bernice Hancock still in Stephenville and having decades of work with the Bay St. George Status of Women Council and the Bay St. Coalition to End Violence, Joyce Hancock’s connection to the area continues to be strong.

Considering the number of women that have taken part in services provided at the Bay St. George Women’s Centre, from the different programs it runs to Karen’s Place transitional housing, it has definitely been a great value to the community for nearly three decades and continues to be today.

The mortgage burning means that the money that was put into payments can now be transferred into funding programs and that’s just another positive for the community and the people who provide the services.

Women’s issues have come a long ways over the years and while equality is still not reached, the gap has closed some and more importantly as Hancock and current executive director Janice Kennedy pointed out – women are getting a lot more respect in the community.

That’s just how it should be.