The innovative new community hub, revealed on Sept. 28, will support women and children escaping violence and will stand as a permanent reminder of D鈥橝mico鱿鱼视频app humanitarian legacy and striving to help those in need. This clinic will provide medical care, harm reduction support, counselling, system navigation and wellness support through a system designed to be more accessible than ever to marginalized groups.
D鈥橝mico was one of 10 people killed in the tragedy that took place on April 23, 2018 with a killer who targeted women. For her brother Nick D鈥橝mico, as painful as the incident has been for the family, the Anne Marie D鈥橝mico Community Collective stands as a sign and a symbol that the light of who his sister was will continue to shine and bring healing and refuge to many in need.
鈥淢y sister very much tried to be a part of people鱿鱼视频app lives in a positive way and tried to help as many people as she could,鈥� said Nick. 鈥淚 think the Community Collective is an incredible space because it gives the community an opportunity to kind of reach more women and children by providing these resources. I think it kind of embodies who she was as a person. It鱿鱼视频app kind of a perfect way to have the legacy continue.鈥�
D鈥橝mico was laid to rest on May 2, 2018 after a funeral service at St. Clare鱿鱼视频app Roman Catholic Church in midtown Toronto. The 30-year-old was a volunteer with Tennis Canada and many other worthy causes and had a passion for change and positivity that served as an example for many.
Shortly after the tragedy, the Anne Marie D鈥橝mico Foundation was launched by the D鈥橝mico family as a way to move forward and keep her memory alive. The vision of the foundation is for all women and children to live free of violence. The Turtle Project is the pinnacle event commemorating the foundation鱿鱼视频app efforts each year on Dec. 3, D鈥橝mico鱿鱼视频app birthday.
The foundation has already raised over half of its million-dollar goal to support the North York Women鱿鱼视频app Shelter since the inaugural fundraiser in 2019. In addition to raising money for the foundation, the event is a platform to bring awareness and shift social and cultural norms through partnership with organizations and individuals that share the vision.
The pandemic has brought a lot of issues to the forefront and violence against women is definitely one of them, says Shereen McFarlane, program manager with Catholic Family 鱿鱼视频app in Toronto. With resources limited in shelters due to the need for social distancing measures and reluctance from those in need to engage with services due to fears around contracting the virus, COVID-19 has exasperated an already challenging issue.
Initiatives like the Anne Marie D鈥橝mico Community Collective and other legacy projects aimed at combating violence against women are important as they continue to look for ways to keep the issue salient in public discourse. Any assistance in bringing newness to this horrible situation that continues to exist is a positive thing.
鈥淭here needs to be more memorial (projects) until somehow we eradicate the whole issue of gender-based violence,鈥� said McFarlane.
鈥淲e constantly have to bring awareness because like with anything it becomes old news. Sometimes you have to refresh the issue so people see it.鈥�
McFarlane says the various events surrounding the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women each year on Dec. 6 along with momentum brought on by the MeToo Movement has been helpful in raising awareness.
鈥淲e have to be hopeful,鈥� said McFarlane. 鈥淪ometimes it鱿鱼视频app just the little wins that makes us feel like we鈥檝e won in this case. Hope is the only factor that helps us keep going as we continue to find ways to make the situation better. The vision of eradicating violence is what drives us and we have to keep that focus.鈥�
D鈥橝mico鱿鱼视频app brother credits their mother, Carmela, and her relentless drive for everything the family has accomplished to preserve Anne Marie鱿鱼视频app legacy. The D鈥橝mico family鱿鱼视频app steadfast faith that good can come from tragedy has been the light motivating them through the darkness of the tragedy.
鈥淲e lost my sister, but we don鈥檛 have to forget her, we don鈥檛 have to forget who she was,鈥� said Nick. 鈥淢ore than that, we can bring those positive qualities that she had to society and to people around us and really use that as motivation to keep going.
鈥淚 miss my sister every day and now she鱿鱼视频app taken on a very different place in my life. She has become someone we rally our inner spirits around to keep all the good things moving forward. I think for us it鱿鱼视频app all the wonderful qualities that she had that keep us motivated to keep going and to keep this thing transforming from something so devastating to something more beautiful.鈥�