Co-op Community Champion: Lisa Jewell

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — March marks the first time an individual has been named the Co-op Community Champion twice, a well-deserved achievement for a Fort St. John social worker who recently created a new non-profit offering support for women and their families who have experienced domestic violence or experienced trauma.

The organization hopes to help those looking to adjust to life after a crisis.

Lisa Jewell was the outreach coordinator for the Women’s Resource Society when she was last named the Co-op Community Champion in 2021. Now, she is the founder and executive director of the Wellness Truth & Families Foundation.

Jewell says there are agencies in town to work with women while in crisis and get them to safety, but aftercare is hard to come by.

“I worked at both the Salvation Army and the Women’s Resource Society, and both of those agencies are incredibly important, but they’re also very busy,” said Jewell.

“I myself was a part of, meet with the client and deal with the emergency, get the client out, next. And nobody really has time to look at the families that are going into limbo unless they’re in some kind of transitional housing program. However, that’s a very small percentage of people that make it into that.”

She adds that there is education and support that can be provided to families so they can avoid making “preventable mistakes.”

The foundation is meant to “be a resource for the Women’s Resource Society and the Salvation Army to refer clients to,” according to Jewell.

“Like everybody for the [Northern Centre of Hope] and [Women’s Resource Society], they’re hoping somebody leaves. They do their due diligence and ensure that all the boxes are checked and people are safe. But they don’t have the time to stay with them,” said Jewell.

“I’m just really hoping to add to the resources. I don’t want to take anything away from anybody. We need more.”

The journey to creating the non-profit was not an easy one for Jewell, who left the Women’s Resource Society in May 2023 to take care of her son, who has severe autism.

The challenging task of balancing her personal life and completing everything necessary for a new non-profit was made easier by the support she received. Jewell reached out to residents in the community for guidance and help on specific tasks, mainly administrative work.

“I prefer being a social worker. I’m not really big on all this admin stuff. But yeah, we got it incorporated. And we got the board registered, and we got a bank account set up, and we’re registered with the [Canada Revenue Agency] to be able to give out tax receipts. It’s so real,” said Jewell.

She also recently acquired the keys to the foundation’s new office at #200, 10136 100th Avenue, between The Lido and The Salvation Army.

The non-profit also hopes to collaborate with various organizations in the community, such as the foundation’s new neighbours, the Fort St. John Literacy Society.

“We’re really excited to be developing partnerships in the community, we’ve met quite a few,” said Jewell.

“They really liked the whole concept of the family feeling [being incorporated in the services and programs].”

The foundation plans to offer several classes and support groups for women and children, along with offering to refer clients to other programs that will assist them.

“I’m building a place where we can learn to heal, featuring classes on self-discovery, domestic violence recovery, parenting challenges, life skills, etc,” said Jewell in a post to the foundation’s Facebook page, explaining her plans for the non-profit.

“We will have support groups for survivors, teens, etc.”

The foundation is also planning to have trained medical volunteers assist clients at their doctor’s appointments by taking notes and asking relevant questions.

“When they come in for group or whatever, you remind them, ‘Hey, Jenny, remember the doc said you gotta do your blood pressure. Did we write it down? Let’s just jot it in your file so that when we go to the doctor next month, we can photocopy it and just give it to him.'”

“I’ve gone to ABC Medical clinic and talked to a couple of the doctors there, as well as the internal medical specialists and some of the nurses. They love the idea. Because then you’re not going back to the doctor repeating the same appointment that you just had.”

The idea to create a non-profit was sparked during conversations with other social workers in the community in December 2023. That’s all it took, and now, in March, Jewell has herself a budding local organization.

The foundation is seeking monetary donations, furniture, and paint for the new office. Anyone looking to contribute can email Wellnesstruthfamilies@gmail.com or the foundation’s Facebook page for more information.

Congratulations to Lisa Jewell for being named March’s Co-op Community Champion. Anyone looking to nominate a community-minded person needing recognition can head to Energeticcity.ca.