Statement of Support
On this World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, Womankind reaffirms our support for older survivors of gender-based violence. The last couple years have been extremely challenging: in addition to suffering abuse in the home, they have had to experience loneliness and isolation during the pandemic and unfathomable levels of anti-Asian violence on the streets. Elders are vessels of wisdom and life lessons, who have a lot to offer and teach younger generations and even their peers. They are worthy of kindness, compassion, and care.
Community Ambassador Program
Did you know that Womankind has a robust Community Ambassador program that aims to build leadership among specific ethnic communities to eradicate gender-based violence (GBV) through community-based education?
Over the course of 8 workshops in 3 months, older/elder survivors at Womankind are educated about a nuanced understanding of GBV. These conversations raise awareness by considering thoughts and beliefs around topics including gender, race, and migration experiences and shift community views around GBV. With this knowledge, they can develop strategies to support and build safety amongst each other.Queens Community Office
This month, the Queens-based cohort of Korean-speaking Community Ambassadors met to discuss elder abuse and create signs with personal messages. They also etched words on heart-shaped wood to hang in their room or car for a daily reminder. Click graphics to read more!
At the end of each cycle, Community Ambassadors choose a community service project to do, and this group will help fellow Korean community members fill out senior housing applications. We would like to give special thanks to our partner KCS Flushing Senior Center for always supporting this program!
Manhattan Community Office
Twice a month at our Manhattan Community Office in Chinatown, Womankind's Community Ambassador program has been educating a group of six Cantonese-speaking older/elder survivors on gender-based violence. At this training focused on community education and outreach, everyone took turns reading the presentation slides out loud to practice their public speaking skills and to become more comfortable with their own voice. Some ambassadors felt shy at first when thinking about doing outreach and engaging others, but we provided them with different scenarios to pitch Womankind's services for survivors of elder abuse and later in life abuse. Practice makes perfect!
We are so proud to witness how far they've come in being comfortable with speaking about sensitive and traumatic topics around gender-based violence and especially elder abuse. Our hope is to inspire older adults to actively age in society and to continuously challenge themselves by learning new topics especially sensitive ones to benefit their peers.
