Shining a light on Angels Corner
Memorial to female victims of violence to be revitalized
Since Angels Corner was unveiled on the corner of Duckworth and Prescott streets in 2011 as a memorial to female victims of violence, it’s fallen into a state of disrepair.
Featuring a bench, a storyboard mural, a plaque and flowerbeds, the memorial offers people a place to reflect and remember victims.
Connie Pike, executive director of the Coalition against Violence Avalon East (CAVAE), goes there often, and was disappointed to see it has not been maintained as well as she would like.
Pike approached St. John’s Deputy Mayor Ron Ellsworth about it in the fall about cleaning it up, as the city is a partner on the project.
“I said it’s certainly not doing anything to honour the memory of the women who have been lost,” she said. “If you think about the number of people who’ve been affected, I think it just needed to be refurbished in their honour.”
Ellsworth had a look at the site, and agreed it needed to be revitalized.
The work has since been approved at the committee level. Ellsworth said council is “very in tune to the issues facing women in our community.”
Among the things being replaced or refurbished are the flowerbeds, the bench and the storyboard. Hanging flowerpots will also be added, Ellsworth said.
“We’re also looking at the possibility of some sort of lighting. The problem with the storyboard, especially in the evening and nighttime, is it is a bit hard to read because it is a little bit darker there back against the building,” he said.
The city plans to start right away on some items, but others — such as the flowerbeds — will have to wait for spring weather.
Pike said she’s delighted to hear the memorial will be revitalized, and she thinks families of victims will be pleased, too.
“I think they’ll be encouraged that people are remembering and taking the issue more seriously, and actually being respectful and honouring the women who have been lost. They said they were going to do this and then they let it drift away,” she said.
“I’d say a lot of people in the city don’t even know where Angels Corner is, so to shine this spotlight on it and bring these families together, to have that place where they can go and remember or mourn (is) at least some recognition that people remember what happened.”
Ellsworth said having Angels Corner on the agenda keeps people focusing on the issue of violence against women — something there is too much of in the community.
“One is too much, and as a father of three daughters, it’s something that’s concerning to me, obviously,” he said.
Pike’s long-term hope for the site is to have a monument erected.
“I won’t be giving up on that, but I’ll celebrate this as a small victory now that we’ve made a start,” she said.
“The problem with the storyboard, especially in the evening and nighttime, is it is a bit hard to read because it is a little bit darker there back against the building.”
Ron Ellsworth, St. John’s Deputy Mayor