News Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters Celebrates Book Publication Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters Celebrates Book Publication Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters celebrates publication of We Need to Do This: A History of the Women’s Shelter Movement in Alberta and the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters New book traces the evolution of the shelter movement in Alberta and the individuals and communities that played a part. Edmonton, Alberta—On September 15, 2023, the University of Calgary Press published We Need to Do This by journalist Alexandra Zabjek. Based on dozens of in-depth interviews, this important book tells the stories of women whose voices may never otherwise never have been heard: entry-level workers at fledgling shelters fighting battling the assumption that their facilities would create crime, small-town shelter directors forced to self-censor or lose community—and financial—support, Indigenous women fighting to serve their sisters in Indigenous spaces. The book is released as the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters celebrates their 40th anniversary. Beginning as a single box of files and a collective of nine shelters across Alberta, ACWS has grown into an advocacy organization serving 41 members operating over 50 shelters across the province. “Alberta’s women’s shelters play a critical role in supporting Albertans escape gender-based violence. I’m thankful for Alexandra’s book, which highlights all that’s been done to improve the lives of women in Alberta. We can all learn something from the leaders who have dedicated their lives to supporting women across our province as we begin work on our 10-year, made-in-Alberta strategy to end gender-based violence.” – Tanya Fir, Minister of Arts, Culture and Status of Women “We Need to Do This debunks the tired stereotype of Alberta as a redneck bastion of oil workers and cowboys. Alberta’s shelter network is a living testament to the perseverance, drive, and compassion of its women,” says Margo Goodhand, author of Runaway Wives and Rogue Feminists. We Need to Do This is written by Alexandra Zabjek, who has worked as a staff writer at the Edmonton Journal and as a producer for national radio programs, including CBC’s The Current. She also produced and co-hosted The Broadcast, one of the first podcasts in Canada focused on women in politics. An official launch for the book will take place as part of Litfest Alberta, Alberta’s premier non-fiction literary festival, with an in-depth conversation about its creation with author Alexandra Zabjek. The event will take place at 4:00PM on October 21, 2023, in the Muttart Theatre at the Stanley A. Milner Library in Edmonton, Alberta. More details about the event can be found at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/book-launch-we-need-to-do-this-tickets-713289316547. To request a copy of the book for review purposes, please contact Alison Cobra at alison.cobra@ucalgary.ca. To order a copy of this important book, visit your local book retailer (Glass Bookshop or Audrey’s Books in Edmonton, or Shelf Life Books in Calgary), or order online at https://utpdistribution.com/9781773854922/we-need-to-do-this/ or through other online retailers. About ACWS: ACWS is the provincial network organization of domestic violence shelters in Alberta. We bring nearly four decades of experience and knowledge to serve our 41 members operating over 50 shelters across the province for women, their children, and seniors facing domestic abuse. We advocate for ACWS members and work with them to end domestic violence through culture-shifting violence prevention programs, collective data and research, and front-line training. With support from ACWS, Alberta shelters are helping to provide safety, support families, and improve communities.
