History
Making Waves/Vague par vague was born of the Transition House movement in New Brunswick and through the vision of Simone Leibovitch, Debrah Westerburg and Linda Legere. These three women, with their shared wealth of knowledge and experience in dealing with family and relationship violence issues, came together in search of a preventative solution for women involved in abusive relationships. They were concerned by the number of very young women who were seeking their services, and also by the fact that children who lived at transition houses with their mothers were returning as adults in need of help. They wanted to find a way to prevent abuse before it starts, and recognized the potential of teens as a starting point for societal change.
In the beginning, the three women delivered violence prevention programs at local schools in their own communities. They wanted to reach youth beyond their limited regions, and the idea of the "Weekend" was conceived. The first Making Waves Weekend was held in 1995; Vague par vague was added in 1998 to address the needs of Francophone youth.
Early in our evolution, we recognized the importance of listening to the voices of youth in our program development. Our Student Advisory Committee was formed in 1998, with new recruits being selected by their peers and invited to join each year. This committee plays a key role in guiding our organization’s development, ensuring our relevance to the youth community, and co-facilitating our workshops. In 2003, the Waves Alumni was formed to provide a continuing role within our organization for young adults.
Recently, we have begun to explore the idea of regional "events" rather than provincial "weekends". This new model will enable us to invite a greater number of students from each school, thereby increasing the ability of school teams to make a significant impact on their peers. Adult community members will be drawn into the process and empowered to take an active role in the education of local youth; teens will be recognized as leaders in the prevention of relationship violence within their high schools and in their communities.