We’re nearly ready to Open the Door!
When a woman is finally able to leave an abusive home, our shelter, Victoria’s, is there to help. Kind, supportive staff help women regain their dignity and start to plan for a future free from intimate partner violence.
But at some point, those women (and children, if they have them) will have to leave the shelter and find their own place to live. That’s an enormous step, especially given skyrocketing rents and a tight market for apartments in our area.
In the past, we ran a facility in Fenelon Falls, Amy’s Second Stage Housing. It provided a safe place for women to go after they left the shelter and helped them make the transition to life on their own while still having support and care. But the location posed problems—it was a long way from the services women needed, the vast majority of which (social services, courts, jobs and medical care) were focused in Lindsay.
There’s a critical need for this kind of housing, given that so many women who leave behind the cruelty and chaos of an abusive relationship all too often end up in poverty. Give them a home they can trust and everything changes, says one former resident of Amy’s. “The first place my children and I could feel safe and call home was our second stage housing apartment. After fleeing from a life filled with violence and uncertainty, we switched out of survival mode and with the help of counsellors started living again.”
Our new Lindsay facility has the exact same intent—provide safe, affordable apartments that will give women the support they need as they rebuild their lives. We took the plunge, purchasing a property on Logie Street in Lindsay to turn into second stage housing. For months, crews have been hard at work converting the building into six apartments that we hope will be ready for its grand opening early in 2024.
It’s a huge undertaking, but we’ve been fortunate to obtain major funding from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and then there’s the tremendous generosity of the local community. Even during the hardships and economic roller coaster of the past few years, businesses and individuals throughout Kawartha Lakes have come through. That said, we’re still short on this fundraising goal, so we’re looking to you to help bring us home. A donation of any size from you, your family, church, workplace, group or business will go straight to creating a home, security and self-worth for a woman who’s already been through more than most of us can imagine.
Thank you for helping us help survivors. You can make a donation here or contact Carolyn Fox for more information. And be sure to watch for news about our celebration in just a few months!
Please, help to “Bring Us Home”.
By Nancy Payne
