Offensive graffiti discovered outside the Elizabeth Fry Society’s Sudbury office has prompted a call for public assistance as staff look to clean up the building, home to programming supporting vulnerable women in the community
After discovering offensive graffiti on the wall of their 204 Elm Street office building early May 9, the Elizabeth Fry Society of Northeastern Ontario is hoping the community can help support a clean up.
An organization that supports criminalized and at-risk women in Northern Ontario through programs focused on life skills, resilience, and stability, the Society’s executive director Amy Collins told Sudbury.com the society’s Weekend and Statutory Holiday (WASH) bail court worker arrived early Saturday morning to find the words ‘f–k you a–hole” scrawled in spray paint on the wall that faces their parking lot.
Collins said that while they were saddened by the spray paint, the organization was also making sure to hear the message the person was attempting to communicate, even though they may have chosen the wrong medium.
“That type of messaging usually is fear-based and it sounds like there’s some conflict there,” Collins said. “That individual is trying to actually keep themselves safe in their own way, so I think that in being mindful of that, and giving the individual the opportunity to maybe come forth and apologize, would also be helpful.”
And if the person who wrote the graffiti isn’t able to apologize, Collins wants them to know they are forgiven just the same. “We see them,” she said. “We see their pain, we see their message, and we hope that they can take into consideration that this is not a great way to get that message out, that there are other ways of doing so.
The Elizabeth Fry Society of Northeastern Ontario has five different programs across their coverage area, including bail programs in North Bay and Sudbury, as well as restorative justice and conflict mediation programs, which are preventative programs that run in schools focused on teaching conflict management and communication skills.
The Elizabeth Fry Society also has housing case managers through a partnership with the Homelessness Network as well as a community integration worker that works primarily out of the Sudbury District Jail. All of these programs rely on the office at 204 Elm Street.
The Elizabeth Fry Society also has another location at 307 Cedar Street, which hosts the youth overnight emergency shelter and the transitional housing program.
The Society is looking to hire a company to remove the spray paint, or gather community members and the proper products so they can clean up the mess. If you would like to volunteer or offer your support, you can send a message to [email protected].
If you can donate to the cause, you can find their Canada Helps donation page here.
For more information about the organization, you can find their website here and their Facebook page here.