The struggle for peace continues for Lynne Rosychuk, but she now has a larger team of people helping her out.
At the end of January the Morinville woman announced that the Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation had been approved for status as a not-for-profit organization. It takes its name from Rosychuk’s daughter, who was killed nearly three years ago by her common-law husband.
Since then Rosychuk has been trying to figure out how to improve the system for other people who are in similar situations. She said that she did everything she could to help get Jessica out of the relationship, including talking to police and law officials to even trying to get her doctor involved. Her daughter couldn’t even get into a women’s shelter because the wait was six to eight weeks long.
In the end, there was a plan made to get Jessica out of the house along with her three children but the husband discovered the plan and killed her before she could carry it out.
Rosychuk wants to ensure that doesn’t happen to someone else.
“Our purpose is to raise awareness on domestic violence, help victims out in trying to get them out safely before something happens to them,” she said. “Our dream is to try and make a difference in other people’s lives.”
Apart from awareness, the foundation’s mission is to provide hope, support, and education.
During an organizational meeting Tuesday morning, Rosychuk was joined by several friends and family members and others who work in social services fields. The discussion frequently moved toward collaborations and connections between all agencies. One of the first topics of discussion was what it would take to get a women’s shelter or some kind of safe house set up in the St. Albert area.
Rosychuk said she doesn’t want to duplicate programs or services that are already in existence. She only wishes that the system was in better shape by this point. She talked about news stories about other domestic violence and abuse cases.
“All the comments come back that there’s a gap in the social services system. My daughter is not the only one that I’m aware of that has not been helped by the system,” she said.
She added that the public at large knows that change is needed. She was approached a few weeks ago by some women she had never met previously.
“They wanted to help me realize this dream. Within a week, we had already put our application out (to get non-profit status). Within the next week, we found that we had gotten it. Within three hours, we had over 300 volunteers.”
Since the foundation is still in its early stages, contact information and other details will be released as time goes on, Rosychuk said. Members of the public who are interested in helping out are asked to keep paying attention to the news in the coming weeks, months and years.
To help further the foundation’s goals, a fundraising event is planned for mid-April. For a $75 admission fee, registrants can take a beginners’ self-defence course put on by instructors from Spruce Grove’s Inner Dragon Kung Fu. All proceeds will go to the organization.
Rosychuk, in the end, remains optimistic. She says that doing something is better than nothing. She has a strong group of people talking together already and it seems like more progress is being made by the second.
“I couldn’t ask for anything more,” she said. “I’ve never done anything like this in my life. Three hours and 300 people, and more keep coming.”
