Healing centre holds benefit concert

Osborne Village

South Osborne

Heartwood Healing Centre, a community organization that addresses the trauma of childhood sexual abuse, is holdng a benefit concert at the Park Theatre on March 22. Funds raised will go to its Building a Foundation program, which provides “engagement sessions, short-term counselling, psycho-educational groups, and foundation-building workshops.”

The Heartwood at the Park concert will feature local artists Lake Disappointment, Jupiter Meltdown, and Kind Hart Women Group.

Griffin Jenkins, development manager at the centre, said Kind Hart Women Group will be opening the evening.

“They’re an Indigenous group, so they’re going to be opening up the night with teachings and prayer songs,” he said.

Jupiter Meltdown will follow them, with Lake Disappointment closing out the night.

There will also be a silent auction, featuring some big-ticket prizes. Top prize includes two tickets anywhere in Canada, as well as parking vouchers and some other travel-related items. Another prize has Winnipeg Jets tickets for April 10 against the San Jose Sharks. Other prizes include a local goods package, gift cards, and several other things.

Jenkins said that, at press time, ticket sales weren’t quite hit the numbers for which he’d hoped.

“At this point, we really just want to get people there. We want people to be able to hear about the work we do and hear about the issues going on in the community,” he said.

Jenkins said Heartwood Healing Centre is the only organization in Winnipeg that specializes specifically on childhood sexual abuse, which he said makes it an invaluable resource in the community.

“Childhood sexual abuse is such a specific complex trauma that people experience, and it affects so many different aspects of their life. When you’re young, you don’t have a strong sense of self. You might have developmental issues that lead to financial and economic problems. Our team is able to address that root trauma and work with people to heal,” he said.

That’s why the organization does things such as working with clients on how to find jobs or deal with relationships, he said. It necessarily takes a holistic approach to healing, as the issues from the root cause may branch out in many directions, he said.

Jenkins said the organization offers long-term support, often spanning multiple years. That means they can’t serve quite as many people as some other organizations, but he said the dedication to their clients allows them to make a greater impact in each client’s life. Still, the organization serves approximately 500 people per year, he said.

One example of that impact, Jenkins said, was someone who because of their childhood trauma was unsure how they could possibly be a parent to their own child. With such a negative experience pervasive through their perception of parenthood, how could they be a good parent themselves? But through consistent therapy and counselling, Jenkins said, the person slowly gained confidence, and finally felt ready to break a family pattern of generation trauma.

“When we’re able to break that chain, it’s going to have long-term impacts,” he said.

On the night of the show, doors will open at 6:30 p.m., with music at 7:30 p.m. and the auction and a 50/50 closing at 9:30 p.m. Tickets for the event cost $20 and can be bought through Jenkins directly or through a link at www. heartwoodcentre.ca/events-workshops/heartwood-at-the-park-2/