Ten years ago when Briar Rose Perrier was a newborn her mother Bridget Perrier sought refuge at Anduhyaun Aboriginal women’s shelter. The family stayed there for 11 months then left.
Yesterday Briar Rose returned to the shelter to give officials there a $2,000 donation — money she had raised with neighbourhood friends, including her best friend, Teyah Aisthorpe, by beading and selling bracelets.
“My mom told me the story about us living in the shelter and I thought, ‘Why don’t we give them some money for helping us out?’” said Briar Rose, 10, an articulate and thoughtful 10-year-old as she stood in front of the shelter on Weston Road yesterday.
Although the memory of her days there was far from clear, she understood the reasons why they were at the shelter. “I was there because of my mom’s boyfriend. They had a fight and they left each other and my mom came here and I stayed here for the first 11 months of my life.”
When Briar Rose suggested she wanted to give something back to the shelter, her mom recommended she get a group of friends together and they make bracelets and sell them to raise money for the shelter. Her friends eagerly joined in.
“I thought it would be a really fun experiment to do because Briar had said she had lived here (at the shelter) for the first 11 months of her life,” said Teyah. “I feel sad for them (the homeless) and I really want to help them succeed with their dreams.”
Since she left the shelter, Briar Rose’s mother, Bridget, has turned her life around. She now works as a community support worker, helping people with disabilities find jobs. She also won a YWCA Women of Distinction Award in 2006.
Advocacy group
Bridget, her two daughters and Teyah are all members of Up With Women, an advocacy group that raises awareness about homelessness and women.
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colin mcconnell/torstar news service
Briar Rose Perrier, 10 years old , left, and friend Teyah wanted to do something good for the shelter her mother and she lived in after her mother left an abusive relationship.
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