The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

The IFP - Halton Hills | Thursday, May 5, 2022 | 12 theifp.ca facebook #1 READER'S CHOICE 3 years rmning An election has been called for June 2. Elections Ontario elections.on.ca Please be advised the Northern Heat Rib Series has applied to the Town of Halton Hills for an exemption to the Noise By-law 2010-0030 Part 2, Schedule A to be held at 1 Park Avenue, Georgetown. The report will be before Council on May 24, 2022. For meeting start time and more information, visit calendar.haltonhills.ca/meetings. If you wish to appear before Council regarding this item you must register as a delegation. Complete the Application to Appear before Council Notice of Noise Exemption Application - Northern Heat Rib Series form at haltonhills.ca/delegation. For further information on registering as a delegation, contact Melissa Lawr, Deputy Clerk at 905-873-2600, ext. 2333. HB OPINION A LIFELINE FOR SEXUAL ABUSE SURVIVORS IRONWOOD PROJECT PROVIDES SAFE PLACE TO TALK WITH PEOPLE WHO ‘GET IT, WRITES CHRIS "I had so many break- through moments that fundamentally changed my) life." ‘his response from a participant is whatitisall The Ironwood sions in February of 2019, we weren't sure who, or how many people, would show up. It was the first time a group of its kind had run in Halton Hills. we are proud to say that over 50 partici- pants have been a part of our groups. What is The Ironwood Project? We are a group for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Ironwood is a place shareas much, oras tae as our participants are comfortable with. It is a place to explore topics like isolation, fear and anger with people who have been in similar situations. Having peers who can CHRIS KIRBY Column share the same language of trauma can be surpris- ingly healing. As one par- ticipant told us, "Being around people who ‘get it' is so incredibly healing. Hearing people's stories helped me to wootter un- derstand my o Ironwood hae, grown from a donated space on Main Street in Geor; nee. town, to our own hom« last year. We rolled with the ups and downs of the last couple of years by of- fering online groups an fone back to in-person when possible. Now we are focused on continuing with in-per- programming, and we are looking for new par- ticipants. Our goal is to createa safe space for sur- vivors to be together. As one survivor told us, "I al- ways felt safe and heard and surrounded by people that understood and re- ected me.” Outreach in our com- munity is also an impor- tant part of what we do. To meet that goal, we have presented to groups like the Halton Regional Po- lice Victim Services Unit and the Halton Sexual As- sault aaveory Commit- tee Meetin; In addition, weare now an affiliated partner with Darkness to Light, an in- ternational not-for-profit working to educate adults about the Prevention | of childhood sexual abus: We provide aceredited training to groups looking to protect chil- dren from sexual abuse in the GTA. With one in three girls and one in six boys expe- riencing sexual abuse by the age of 18, we know the number of adults in our community who need these services is stagger- vent childhood abuse trauma. The Ironwood Project is anot-for-profit based in Halton Hills. Our services sexual For more information go eo pww. theironwoodpro- t.ca or email us at in- fo@theironwoodpro. ject.ca. Chris Kirby is the di- rector of The Ironwood Project. SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFR.CA