The bare rooms in a building at the heart of Selkirk are poised to become a new hub for survivors of sexual violence. Renovations are scheduled to start soon and staff say the plan is to welcome clients summer 2026. Co-executive director Gillian Schofield confirmed the timeline, noting that the space will provide private areas for appointments and a place to gather resources for people in the region. This move shifts some services from a rural base into a central town location to improve access for people across the Interlake.
Leaders describe the new site as more than an office: it is intended to be a quieter, safer entry point for survivors and a staging ground for outreach work. The Selkirk location will allow Survivor’s Hope Crisis Centre to hire additional staff and increase its capacity to offer counselling, education and hospital advocacy without clients needing to travel to larger centres. Co-executive director Coral Kendel emphasized that communities outside Winnipeg still face limited options and that maintaining local services reduces barriers to care.
Services and outreach
The organization, which has operated from Pinawa since 2003, conducts travel-based programming across the Interlake to reach remote communities. Staff and volunteers respond when survivors present at hospitals or RCMP detachments, and they also deliver workshops in schools and community groups. Key programs include the Sexual Assault Recovery and Healing (SARAH) initiative and the Sexual Assault Discussion Initiative (SADI), each designed to pair immediate support with education aimed at prevention. These offerings combine direct advocacy with opportunities for survivors to receive short-term emotional support while longer-term referrals are arranged.
Hospital response and advocacy
Volunteers and counsellors ride along to hospital visits and act as the first contact for many people seeking help. Volunteer Amber Dreger, who began with the SARAH program last year, describes her role as a calming presence: offering practical assistance, relaying concerns to medical staff and helping survivors make requests when they are too overwhelmed to speak up. This kind of in-person advocacy is intended to reduce stress and ensure survivors’ needs are heard during medical assessments and examinations.
Education and prevention
Beyond crisis response, the centre places strong emphasis on prevention through education. Natasha van Dorp, coordinator for SADI, leads sessions in Interlake schools on topics such as consent, mental health and healthy relationships. Facilitators report that students increasingly use the language and tools from workshops to articulate boundaries and seek help when needed. Staff view this outreach as essential to shifting community norms and reducing the incidence of sexual violence over time.
What counselling looks like
When someone connects with Survivor’s Hope they are typically offered short-term counselling to stabilize immediate needs and identify next steps. Short-term counsellor Chantal Shibata explains that sometimes the most important immediate intervention is simple: offering belief, holding space and listening for a few focused minutes. That initial contact can make it easier for survivors to consider medical care, legal options or follow-up therapy, and it can signal they are not navigating the situation alone.
Demand, data and the road ahead
Statistical context underscores the need for services: Manitoba RCMP reported 814 sexual assault files in 2026, followed by 816 in both 2026 and 2026. Nationally, Statistics Canada estimates that roughly 6% of sexual assaults are reported to police, highlighting the gap between incidents and formal reports. Locally, Survivor’s Hope handled 51 response calls in 2026 and 259 in 2026, a jump the team links to greater public awareness and outreach that encourages survivors to seek help.
Leadership frames the Selkirk expansion as part of a larger aim to reduce future harm. Kendel says the organization ultimately hopes to ‘work itself out of a job’ by preventing violence and strengthening community responses, while Schofield points to prevention and reduction of harm as the long-term goal. In the meantime, the new Selkirk site is intended to make immediate supports more accessible and visible for survivors across the region.
