Introducing Dixon’s new Executive Director

We are so pleased to introduce Dixon Transition Society’s new Executive Director, Monika Verma. For the past 20 years, Monika has demonstrated exceptional leadership and management skills and a proven track record of serving our community, especially women and children.

Monika served as Executive Director of SARA for Women Society, where she managed 9 facilities and 100 employees serving women and their children in need. While working as Health Director at Lookout Society, Monika established a non-profit dental clinic for the marginalized population and pioneered NARCAN training for staff and clients. As CEO of SEEDS, she established self-employment programs for Indigenous and immigrant communities. Monika has been recognized receiving many community awards including Shakti Award for leadership and empowering women, SEEDS Life Time Award, Times of Canada Social Services Award and many others.

My personal philosophy of inclusiveness and accessibility of women as full citizens of the community has truly been a calling for me, and 20 years later this path of supporting women in need still fills my heart with a fire of passion, focus and energy. In coming to Dixon Transition Society, I feel I have landed at home.

– Monika Verma, Executive Director of Dixon Transition Society

Violence against older women

What do you imagine your retirement to be like? For some, retirement will involve travelling the world. For others, it might mean board game nights and sculpting classes at the local community centre. Regardless of how we imagine our retirement, we tend to imagine it as a safe and fulfilling period in our lives.

However, for many women, this is not the case. For them, retirement marks the beginning of a new or worsening cycle of abuse. 

Why do women stay with abusive partners?

Some people assume that leaving an abuser is an event that feels like a breakup: uncomfortable, but easy enough to do. The truth is, leaving an abuser is not one event, but rather a process filled with barriers.

At Dixon, we support women at all stages of their journey towards a life free of abuse. So, what are some of the common reasons women stay in a relationship, even if they are experiencing violence in that relationship?