'I don't feel safe': Edmonton SafeWalk program hopes to expand to other parts of the city
A northeast Edmonton program helping women feel more secure while walking hopes to expand to other neighbourhoods in the city.
Edmonton SafeWalk is a pilot program launched this summer in response to the rising number of Muslim women being attacked.
“A lot of people might think that we don’t hear of Muslim women being attacked and that the issue is gone, but it’s not,” said Wati Rahmat, the founder of Sisters Dialogue.
“Muslim women, especially our Black Muslim women, are still being harassed and attacked and facing discrimination and hate,” she added.
Incidents that have left many women feeling anxious or afraid to go out alone for something as simple as a walk through the neighbourhood alone.
The Safewalk program allows women to go online to request a walk with a trained volunteer.
“They go through anti-oppression and some cultural sensitivity training and then a criminal record check,” said Leslee Mackey, Program Coordinator with the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues.
“We’ve had 43 total reach out, some of them just to say if this program ever comes to my neighbourhood, let me know. So far, 18 have completed the volunteer training and police checks,” Mackey added.
But since starting the pilot, only seven walks have been done through the program, many of them group walks through the river valley.
“In terms of women who want to walk right in the northeast where the pilot is, is where we’re seeing less than we had originally hoped,” Mackey said.
“Really, we’re reaching out to the most vulnerable of women who are isolated and afraid to go out, so there was a bit of learning in terms of building trust,” Rahmat said.
In order to build that trust, Safewalk volunteers started hosting a weekly playground program.
“Bringing out families, women and their kids, in a culturally sensitive programming like this where we bring Halal food so women feel comfortable to come and food that they’re familiar with,” said Rahmat.
There are also games and activities for the kids. Officials said it’s an environment they hope women not only feel safe but can connect.
“It’s more than just about the safety of Muslim women, it’s about the ripple effect in the community in creating conversations, in creating connections,” Rahmat said.
“There’s a layer of connection and relationship building that might need to happen prior to women feeling comfortable signing up to go on a safewalk,” Mackey added.
Alia Hanena brings her daughter to the playground program. A place both of them have made new friends.
“Even the kids, now they know me,” she said. “As soon as they see us coming they just run, ‘Hi, do you know me?’ she laughed. “It was nice.”
She drives to northeast Edmonton from downtown just to take part.
“To be honest, I don’t feel safe and I hope that the program will be expand to there. I never get chance to go walk by myself,” Hanena said.
The EFCL said it’s heard loud and clear from residents who want the Safewalk program to expand to other parts of the city.
“So if it happens that there’s a volunteer from the same neighbourhood that someone’s reaching out from we’re just now at the capacity to try and be able to set that up,” Mackey said.
She said several community leagues have also expressed interest in the program.
“They’d like to explore getting their own funding and piloting a model in their neighbourhood,” Mackey said.
“It creates the network where eventually that’s our hope where we can create networks where neighbours can keep each other safe,” Rahmat said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Demonstrators kicked out of Ontario legislature for disruption after failed keffiyeh vote
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Government agrees to US$138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Pro-Palestinian protests roiling U.S. colleges escalate with arrests, new encampments and closures
The student protests of Israel's war with Hamas that have been creating friction at U.S. universities escalated Tuesday as new encampments sprouted and some colleges encouraged students to stay home and learn online, after dozens of arrests across the country.