We then spent some time thinking about what goes on inside the homes in the community and the picture began to change. We talked about the intense isolation so many women experience, the violence that occurs in their lives, the pressures of financial insecurity, the stresses associated with family responsibilities, and drug and alcohol abuse.

We know that for ourselves becoming involved in programs at the Centre helped relieve some of the isolation, stresses and pressures of our lives. More than ever we wanted to encourage women to take the first step, to get involved. We didn't despair, but our hopes plummeted as we acknowledged our suspicions that fear of violence, fear of recrimination, and fear of failure are the biggest barriers that women face.

At the workshop, we concluded that our only possible hope of reaching women was through personal contact. We decided that going door-to-door to visit with women in the community would be our woman-positive activity. The staff agreed to devote one day a week to this activity until they had visited, or had attempted to visit, the woman in every household in the area.

We developed a questionnaire to use as an ice breaker and to focus our discussions. For the most part the questions invited women to give their opinions because we felt women would be more likely to talk if they didn't feel as though they were being asked personal questions. We asked them about programs that might be of interest to women and things that might make it difficult for women to participate.

Reflections - End of February 1992

We were feeling a little uneasy going door-to-door with our questionnaires. We didn't know what kind of reception people would give us, but we headed out with an air of confidence we didn't entirely feel.

The morning was great. We were invited into three homes. People were hesitant at first, but when they found out we were not from housing they relaxed and chatted. The women readily opened up when they realized we have so many things in common.

Although the response was good, in the afternoon we felt a little . depressed. We visited one lady who had just lost her husband and we felt as though we were invading her privacy. The stories women were telling us were sad - there's a lot of poverty out there. Older people were very .. friendly and chatty. There was a sense of loneliness with them but at the same time, for the most part, they seemed contented.

Mostly single moms invited us into their homes. We felt that the women we visited with were very lonely and needed to talk with someone about their problems. We sensed that some of these women were experiencing abuse. One woman spoke of words like "slut" and "whore" being used to describe her.

We completed thirteen questionnaires today, our first day.