Transition House held the grand opening of their new downtown Outreach Offices on Thursday ahead of International Women’s Day.  

Jenn Angus, executive director of Moose Jaw Transition House, explained how the need for the space at 105 B High Street West in Moose Jaw arose. 

“During Covid, domestic violence increased drastically across the country, including our community. However, people wanting to stay in a shelter went down. We knew that more people were in need, but less people were contacting us through our residential services.” 

She said that as they grew to have more non-residential clients, they sought a more visible and accessible place to meet with them.  

Angus thanked Liepert Financial Group for their help in acquiring the space. “Thanks to the support of Tim Leipert, our landlord and one of our donors and neighbour, and also generous grants and donors, we were able to secure this place for the next couple years.” 

She said that with the help of their next-door neighbour at Leipert Financial Group, all they had to do was move in and bring their desks.  

Tim Leipert, managing partner, risk specialist with Leipert Financial Group, spoke about why they decided to help. “For us being part of the community has always been important, and putting back in the communities we’re involved in. When I was approached about taking over the space, and possibly donating some towards making it possible within the budget, it just made sense for us to accommodate that.” 

Mayor Clive Tolley participated in the ribbon cutting for the new space and shared some thoughts on its importance. “It’s another service for people in need in our community. We’re a caring community, we’re a community that looks after each other, and if you didn’t know where to go for services in the past, or you were hesitant, here’s a place that’s in a busy downtown location.” 

Services offered at the Outreach Offices can stem from self-referrals or people can be referred by outside agencies. 

While they typically have appointments during daytime hours, outreach workers will also work evenings and weekends on a case-by-case basis.  

Employees in the office let us know about their respective services: 

 

FIRST (Family Intervention Rapid Support Team) 

Tammy Mccleary is the FIRST outreach coordinator with Transition House. 

Tammy McclearyTammy Mccleary

“My job is to try and help women and families before things escalate – to be more of a preventative role.” 

“When women and families contact me, I can help them with things like [organizing] a support system, things like food bank, Moose Jaw Housing, going to court with them, figuring out lawyers, and being there to talk to them.” 

She said the role is about meeting women where they’re at, including having someone to talk to in developing a safety plan. “A lot of women are grateful that we can text each other and call on the phone too, so they don’t have to do face-to-face if they don’t want to.” 

 

Community Outreach 

Michelle Welsh is the community outreach coordinator with Transition House. 

Michelle WelshMichelle Welsh

“I do non-clinical counselling to women or men who have been in interpersonal violence situations. I focus on grief, self-esteem, anger.” 

She does a combination of self-referrals and referrals from outside organizations. “The first meeting is just a meet and greet. We talk about what’s going on with them, what the background is, and get to know each other a little bit, and make sure it’s a good fit.” 

 

Rural Outreach 

Amber Finiak is the rural outreach worker with Transition House. 

Amber FiniakAmber Finiak

Her role includes both individual and group work. “I work with youth and adults – both men and women – who live in the rural communities in south central Saskatchewan. I do school presentations, I work on healthy relationships, I do lots of anger expression and anger management.” 

“I also work on safety planning, and work with survivors of interpersonal violence.” 

She wants rural areas to know that there are resources for them, and she is working to get the word out. “I’ve put together a bunch of packages that I’m going to deliver to all of the rural [areas]. It has all the services that are available, and my contact information.” 

“I’m also going to work with some of the rural schools and be able to go in and talk to the youth.” 

She said that areas covered include south of Moose Jaw to the border, west to just before Swift Current, east down to Weyburn, and north up to around Davidson.  

If you are interested in learning more about the Moose Jaw Transition House, you can find information and contacts on their Facebook Page or Website.