It’s late October, the trees have lost their leaves and cold crisp wind is blowing across grey skies as I start my trusty old BMW and turns on the heat. I glance at myself in the rear view mirror and sigh not my best look, but it will have to do, I think, as I plug my phone into the aux cord and tune into the local radio station. I’m still getting used to the schedule that came with the job at the women’s shelter in the city, in order to be there for the 7am start time I now

The Night Death Came For Owen. It was a night like any other in October, 2002, and I was visiting my friend Krissy at 1011 Lansdown Ave in Toronto. I knew the place had a reputation for violence, and Krissy and I had both learned to trust our instincts when it came to feeling danger on the horizon. But this night, it wasn't just a feeling. It was a darkness that crept into the air and settled in our bones like a premonition of doom. Krissy and I were sitting in her apartment

It’s early August and already the air feels noticeably cooler in the evenings, and downright chilly in the morning, a portent for an early winter, I think, as I sit on my back porch and sip a hot cup of coffee. My mind wanders to the list of things yet to be done before winter sets in, the house must be prepared, motorcycle and dirt bikes stored, winter tires and maintenance. And of course, school supplies and attire. I sigh and get up and walk through the creaky weathered ba

It’s odd to be sitting in a criminology class, and to be learning about things like crime and poverty and how it’s all entangled, and it’s also sad, because obviously we have known for a long time what causes crime, and we know that we need to be building strong communities, and we need to be giving everyone an equal footing to start life off with. But that’s not how our world is, despite all of our knowledge. As someone who has experienced more than her share of life, which