The Yorkton Tribal Council and Safe Haven Women’s Shelter put on a Mother’s Day Life Skills event today (Mon) at the Safe Haven location at 238 Myrtle Avenue.

YTC and Safe Haven staff were taught by Yorkton Hyundai mechanics basic vehicle maintenance such as changing tires, changing oil and checking vehicle fluids.

“We give them more skills than sitting at a desk,” Chief of Yorkton Tribal Council Isabel O’Soup said of the YTC staff learning these skills, which will be useful considering they are on the road often, and can help them should they get into a bind.

“90 percent of the women, honestly, they put in the gas and know how to start it and drive it, (but) they don’t know if anything’s wrong, and that’s what we’re trying to give them a few extra skills.”

O’Soup noted the event was going to happen about 2 years ago, but was put on hold due to the pandemic.

The Director of Safe Haven, Nola Mahingen, said for many of the ladies, this was a new experience.

“A lot of ‘oh, that’s what you do’, and there’s actually a lot of feedback (like) ‘okay, let me try’”, Mahingen noted.

Service Manager at Yorkton Hyundai, Kyle Kaban was one of the men teaching the ladies, and was impressed with their eagerness to learn.

“Quite a few of them here were itching to change the tires themselves. They don’t want to be shown, they want to do it themselves.,” Kaban said. “It’s good that they’re learning it and eager to learn it.”

The event was from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.