B.C. man looks to support Hutterites leaving colonies
make their connections through outsider companies working with them. They get offered a job or they discover through the internet on their smartphones or however, and most of them go into construction or the oil fields.”
Providing help for estranged Hutterites, one of the main focuses of the charity is to provide support groups where they are able to talk about their experiences and concerns, but also help them with valuable skill training sessions to help them understand and interact in society properly.
“From talking to people who have left, the hardest thing for them after a year was they really have no support in place, and it is really difficult if you want to go see your family at the colony. You have to call your old leader and to get approval to see your family and with the centre, we will have a support group where they can meet up, have orientations and know what to expect. Volunteers come in to assist them for what they can expect in day-to-day life,” he says.
From the original launch of the association, Roy immediately received backlash from several colonies and Hutterite individuals, flooding his phone with death threats. With his life being threatened, the colonies have taken another approach to stop his movement by talking to the companies that supply his product, that they will cease their large business to the company if they don’t pull the product from their shelves and carry their very similar competing product.
“There was some worry before, but it is not about me, it is about helping the people inside there,” says Roy. “It obviously angered me, and as I started to look in deeper with what I was working with, I discovered their ways and I realized that if this was something they did to people they are supposed to be helping, what do they do to the people inside the colony. I am anticipating a slippery slope because I have already had death threats because the colonies are already aware of what I am doing, I have had around 100 calls of disapproval from Hutterite individuals.”
With the worry of his company collapsing for the greater good, Roy isn’t afraid of what the colonies will do to stop him. He has spoken with the bishops in all three major sectors and is aware that they are not happy with what he is doing, even though the organization is not currently operational.
The Colony to Society Association is seeking public interest and volunteers who would be willing to spare their time to assist with running programs around the office, transporting, job opportunities, or any other way to help make the transition easier. With the feedback from the community, he will be able to determine the best location for the office, with Lethbridge being a possible site.
“When I first posted about it on Facebook, I had 40 volunteers from Lethbridge in two days. That is why I am choosing Lethbridge as a potential location because that is where all of the colonies are,” says Roy. “We are just getting started, organizing and accepting volunteers and accepting donations of furniture and clothing so we can start up, and from there I am going to gauge where the office will be located. I don’t want to do it until everything is for sure bulletproof. I don’t want to take them out of their colony and in six months from now we have to close the doors on them. I want to make sure everything is in place before we begin.”
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