Cheer Fund: WISH Safe House is the only safe place this baby has known

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Little Jackson knows no place safer than WISH Safe House.

Then again, WISH Safe House is the only home he has known.

And while he won’t remember this very special place, it is where he will spend his very first Christmas.

His mom, Sarah, already knows what he is getting from Santa — a baby jumper, befitting an active four-month-old. It is a Christmas gift made possible by donations to the Leader-Post Christmas Cheer Fund.

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WISH Safe House is one of four Regina-area women’s shelters supported by your donations, along with Regina Transition House, YWCA’s Isabel Johnson Shelter and SOFIA House. Your money goes to buy the extras moms and kids need — especially at this time of year.

Jackson came into this world in August — a breached baby, he was a few weeks earlier than expected. He weighed just five pounds.

Sarah had arrived at WISH just a few days earlier — a mom hoping to escape both an abusive relationship and an addiction issue that has resulted in Jackson’s now two-year-old brother being placed in the care of a family member.

“It was actually more of a relief when I got here,” said Sarah, which is not her real name.

Unburdened by fears of her abuser and the notion that she would have no one to safely take her to the hospital when the time came for her baby’s delivery, WISH Safe House has become more than a temporary refuge for Sarah and her little boy over the last few months.

She will remember it as the place where she was given a chance to get clean and start a new life for her family.

“If you had met me a year ago, it would have been a different story,” said Sarah, referring to a time not so long ago when she was still using street drugs. “I was so skinny. You could see my collarbone.”

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Sarah has now just completed her 42-day outpatient program. She looks healthy as she gently kisses her now 10-pound happy son and feeds him a bottle.

“He’s the reason I got sober,” Sarah said. “I didn’t want him to go through the same thing his brother went through.”

This Christmas, Sarah is one of four mothers and 10 children sheltered at WISH. All of them are escaping domestic violence but, like her, many are also escaping a life scarred by addictions.

Yet, all are treated with the utmost respect, kindness and understanding — a hallmark of WISH and its entire staff under the guidance of executive director Anna Crowe.

“Because of the trauma they have been through, they’ve turned to unhealthy lifestyles,” Crowe explained. “They have all been terrific. I don’t know how things would get done around here without them (pitching in) …

“They deserve our respect.”

Crowe always refers to the tenants as “the ladies’” and speaks glowingly of how hard they work at not only their own recoveries but also simply helping with meals and keeping the shelter in its always immaculate state.

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Some may only stay for a day or two but others such as the current “ladies” remain for multiple weeks, getting help with counselling, life skills and, like Sarah, getting into drug addiction programs.

It is more than a shelter. It is home and it is very much a family.

At WISH Safe House this Christmas, there’s excitement over not only the moms’ recoveries but also picking out the exact right gift for the little ones.

For Jackson’s very first Christmas gift, it’s the baby jumper that Sarah proudly picked for him.

For Joshua — a boy with Down syndrome whose mother is one of the other “ladies” — it’s a gift he picked out of a Canadian Tire flyer: a set of headphones.

“He makes us laugh,” WISH childcare co-ordinator Julie McMillan said of the happy 12-year-old boy who loves to dance.

Little Jackson won’t remember that first gift or where he spent his first Christmas, but WISH Safe House is a very special place that makes lives better.

The Leader-Post would like to thank the following who generously donated so that Joshua would get his headphones and Jackson would get his first Christmas present:

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Majestics Car Club Of Regina Inc. $16,000

Sexton Family of Companies Inc. $2,125

NOD Bunco $150

Wanda Walter $50

Sharon Kosior and Reg Taylor $200

Donna Mccudden (in honour of C.E. Knauft) $100

Gary Kadin $50

Cal and Patty Kelly $500

Patty Kelly $25

Irish Club of Regina $500

Clifford Baylak $400

Jim Engel $110

Joan, Peter and Kevin $150

Dianne and Rob Fehr $200

Duncanson, Chuck and Lynn $200

Russell and Sheila Hart $500

Marilyn Trobiak (in memory of Wally Trobiak) $60

Donna and Barry Wilde $200

Wenda Cross (in memory of Don and Bessie Cross) $200

Rod Steffan (in memory of my wife, Audrey Steffan) $100

Gaylene Diekrager $100

Anonymous (in memory of James Stephenson) $200

Mary Lu and Bill King $100

Janet Galger (in memory of Bob) $60

Bruce Crump $50

Rob Vanstone, Chryssoula Filippakopoulos and Candy (in memory of Jim Hopson) $50

Gayle Toth $100

Brenda and Dale Weisbrot (Calgary) $100

Lori Edwards $200

Gordon and Julie Dillon $300

Bev Bradshaw $300

Wayne and Anita Clifton $300

Eugene and Pat Kalenchuk $50

Charlotte Hendren, Don, Kevin, Nathan and Lauren (in memory of Jim Hendren) $200

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Christine Berg $100

Yvonne Warnes (in honour of Bob Warnes) $500

Anita Jadischke $100

Probus Regina (excess funds from the Probus Regina Sparkle Tour held on Dec. 9, 2024) $250

Janice Pillipow $100

Fred Sidaway $100

Peggy and Murray Hogan $200

Rod McKendrick $200

The 12 Days of Christmas Westhill Ladies Group $375

Noreen Steeves and Drew Tiefenbach $200

Darline Artemchuk $100

George Rosenau (in memory of Lynne) $100

Don and Leanne Black $500

Margo Embury (in memory of John Embury and Bob Turgeon) $200

Cliff Walker (in memory of my sisters, Roberta Mireau and Harriet Greenhow) $100

Westminster Church Anniversary Unit $120

Elaine Yeomans $400

Ukrainian Women’s Association of Canada $250

Anonymous (in memory of Thelma Postnikoff) $100

Anonymous $11,810

GRAND TOTAL: $87,662

Due to the recent Canada Post strike and its impact on mail-in donations, we kindly request that, if you are able, you consider making a donation online. It’s quick, easy, and secure.

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Simply visit leaderpost.com/cheerfund and click on the DONATE HERE button. You’ll be directed to a safe and secure payment platform managed by the South Saskatchewan Community Foundation, where you can enter donation details and payment method. Your generous contribution will be processed right away, ensuring it reaches us without delay.

Alternatively, cheques can be dropped off at the South Saskatchewan Community Foundation (1911 Broad Street) during office hours (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). The front doors of the building are locked, so please call 306-751-4756 upon arrival, and someone will meet you at the door.

We truly appreciate your continued support and thank you for helping us make a difference!

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