Holistic housing

Herstreet founder says homeless women need
more than just shelter to rebuild their lives

by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Leonie Couture

Age: 57

Occupation: Founder/executive director of Herstreet

Bio: This munificent Rosemont babe had been working in the women’s health field for years when, in 1994, she decided to launch something called Herstreet, an organization dedicated to helping homeless and similarly challenged chicks improve their situations using a “holistic” approach. “The work I’d been doing with victims of rape and incest showed me how few resources were available to all the women who needed help. I founded Herstreet so at least a few more women could access the tools needed to rebuild themselves.” Should you, in this magical season of giving, feel like forking over a few hard-earned bucks to help fund a highly worthwhile local endeavour, go to their Web site at www.laruedesfemmes.com and send away. As advocates for the homeless always love saying, everyone is vulnerable to becoming homeless someday, so maybe just consider your donation an investment in your future.

How Herstreet might differ from your average homeless shelter: For starters, it isn’t a shelter per se, but a resource where down and out women can go to get to the root of the problems that have rendered them homeless in the first place. This they attempt via individual counselling, massage and various creative therapies employing music, art and dance. “I always say homelessness is more a state [of being] than it is a situation. We constantly work at perfecting a community allowing homeless women to re-experience connecting with others as a means of healing, re-connecting to life with dignity and a sense of empowerment.” Herstreet also operates a 23-bed shelter called Olga House, where homeless chicks or those on the precipice can stay for periods “ranging from 24 hours to four years, depending on their needs,” the majority of residents being between 40 and 45 years old. “We see ourselves as a family where women can finally experience the inclusion and connection to others that will heal them and lead them out of homelessness.”

Why do homeless women always seem so much more tragic than homeless men, when obviously the situation sucks big time regardless of gender? “Homelessness is horrible for everyone, but for women, in addition to being excluded from everything, it seriously affects her identity. Having a home is extremely important to meet the specific needs of women, like menstruation, having babies etc. Even more shameful is her inability to be a good mother or good wife while living on the street. She’s considered guilty and therefore judged harshly by the community.”

Are homeless women sexually assaulted very often? “Yes. It’s said homeless women are 20 times more likely to be assaulted on the street than other women. They’re raped, beaten, robbed, people urinate on them. A woman on the street is a woman in great danger.”

Best part of her gig: Seeing the smiles on the faces of women as they gradually regain hope, finally feeling some self-confidence and love, making peace with their pasts.

Worst: “Always looking for money” and having to turn women away for lack of resources.

Musical preferences: Christine Tassan, Marie-Claude Lamoureux, Les Cowboys Fringants

Last book read: Docteure Irma: Tome 2: L’indomptable, by Pauline Gill.

Words of wisdom: “Give joy, celebrate life and choose to be a messenger of joy on this planet, whatever the circumstances.”

Comments: dimwit@hdot.net