Surrey Women's Centre - SMART

The Surrey Mobile Assault Response Team (S.M.A.R.T), a partnership between the Surrey Women's Centre and Fraser Health, provides services for women and girls who have experienced physical or sexual violence.

Learn more about this partnership, and the services offered by the Surrey Women's Centre.

Transcript
Sonya Boyce:
If I could do one thing, I'd write myself a pink slip, I'd be out of a job because there would be no need for our services any more.

Corrine Arthur:
Surrey Women's Centre really believes that no woman or child should be experiencing violence on their own and so we exist here in the community so women can seek out help and get whatever resources they might need to find a safer place for them and their children.

Sonya Boyce:
Women and girls who are fleeing violence often have to make a lot of critical decisions in a really short period of time. those decisions are often time sensitive and they can really make the difference between life and death.

Sonya Boyce:
And so our role is to help make that process easier by walking along side them, step by step, exploring their options, letting them make the decisions and supporting whatever it is they decide to do.

Corrine Arthur:
The most common fear a woman has when she comes here is "If I tell you, what happened to me who do you have to tell?"

Sonya Boyce:
In order to keep women safe, all of us have to be working together. It doesn't matter if you're talking about the health care system, the legal system, the social service system, child protective system, they all come into play when a woman has been assaulted particularly if she has children.

Corrine Arthur:
Really SMART was looking at the programs we provided and saying "Whats missing?" and a crisis response that actually went to women was one of the key things that didn't exist.

Sonya Boyce:
The biggest benefit I think is that women living anywhere in this region can call one number and get the support that they need. They can get transportation to the hospital for emergency medical treatment, when they get to the hospital, they will get support to help them explore not only their medical and legal options but help them navigate some pretty complex systems along the way.

Sonya Boyce:
And our support continues beyond the emergency room. We'll continue to support her every step of the way in the days, weeks and months that follow to make sure she gets the support she needs. By calling one number! That's huge when you think about it.

Corrine Arthur:
Do I wish that the Surrey Women's Centre didn't have to exist? Of course I do.

Sonya Boyce:
It's possible to end violence against women and girls. And that's why we do what we do.