Ending violence in aboriginal communities : Fin à la violence dans les communautés autochtones: pratiques exemplaires dans le centres d'hébergement autochtones et communautaires

The crisis mode of daily life in shelters also contributes to the lack of uniformity and to less-effective delivery of servic- es in Aboriginal women’s shelters across the country. [...] They are sometimes the result of trial and error, sometimes a matter of com- mon sense and sometimes the result of experience in the field. [...] The Board of Directors is made up of the elected Chiefs of the 13 First Nations in Nova Scotia and a representative from the Nova Scotia Native Women’s Association; the Grand Chief is an Honourary member of the Board. [...] Some essential characteristics are: • creativity in procuring funding and fund-raising; • well-versed in “thinking outside the box”; • willing and able to raise the profile of the shelter within the community; • assertive and aggressive when necessary; • not easily intimidated; • able to deal effectively with constant stress; • a committed team builder; • have strong communication skills; • advent [...] Whether or not the client is in impending danger ought to be the main consideration in determining whether the shelter is the appropriate agency for her or not, in which case the shelter ought to get other help for her.