Strengthening

Women’s

Shelters

Across

Canada

Violence against women and children is a critical crisis in Canada. More than 6.3 million women and girls will face sexual or intimate partner violence, and every 2.5 days, another life is lost to this epidemic. Women’s Shelters Canada (WSC), founded in 2012, unites shelters and advocates nationwide to tackle this urgent issue. During the COVID-19 pandemic, WSC was entrusted to distribute over $120M in federal government funding to shelters and transition houses across Canada to meet the rise in demand for support. Despite significant impact the funding had on the lives of women and children during a critical time, the funding ended in March 2024, with the issue of gender-based violence only becoming more severe. 

To continue to meet this need, WSC, with the support of The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation, created the Shelter Ready Fund, a three-year granting program to provide funding to shelters and transitions houses across Canada. Unlike government funding, which often comes with restrictions and limitations, the Shelter Ready Fund offered shelters the flexibility to allocate resources where they are most needed – from upgrading facilities to expanding programming and staff. This ensured shelters and transitional houses were better equipped to meet the unique needs of their clients and provide support and stability for women and families rebuilding their lives. Since the launch of the Shelter Ready Fund, a total of $1.3M has been granted to 54 shelters across the country, impacting over 6,495 women, children, and men. 

Women’s Resources of Kawartha Lakes shared how this funding was critical to helping women receive the legal support they needed to take ownership of their lives: “With this funding, we were able to directly assist 14 women with 87 hours of legal services through our Family Court Program. Their needs were complex with women dealing with family court issues for an extended period of time. Lawyers provided a reduced service fee and filed motions, reviewed parenting plans, attended court, filed and served documents, and, in one case, assisted a woman to get her home sold and liens paid off.”

By equipping shelters across Canada, regardless of their size or location, with flexible support, the Shelter Ready Fund was more than just financial assistance – it was a program to empower local, front-line organizations with the tools and resources they needed to offer safe, stable places for women, children and families to rebuild their lives.