You found the courage to leave. We'll find the hands to help. 

Shelter Movers is the only service of its kind in Canada. 

Shelter Movers is a national volunteer-powered charitable organization providing moving and storage services at no cost to individuals and families fleeing abuse. We collaborate with local businesses and community agencies to support people, primarily women and their children, as they transition to a life free of violence.  

Shelter Movers operates in major cities across Canada, and is in the process continuing their expansion. Currently, we have chapters in Greater Toronto (York and Peel Regions), Waterloo Region, Ottawa, Nova Scotia, Vancouver, Montréal and Moncton. Through our community partnerships, Shelter Movers seeks to support survivors in rural regions to serve the most marginalized and isolated portion of the population. 

We offer 3 types of moving services: 

1. Urgent Exit: When it is safe to do so, our volunteers arrive at a client’s residence to help pack belongings and store them. Volunteers transport the client and any children to a prearranged shelter or safe housing that has agreed to receive them.

1. Escorted Move:  If the client is already residing in a shelter at the time of referral, volunteers will return to the household with a police or security escort to retrieve personal belongings. Volunteers return the client to the shelter and, typically, place items into storage until the client is ready to resettle in a new home. 

1. Resettlement Assistance: When a client is ready to move out of a shelter or temporary residence, our volunteers pick up the client, her children and their belongings, and help to resettle them into a new home.  

Whether a  survivor is moving into a shelter, or out of a temporary housing into their new home, Shelter Movers safely moves survivors’ belongings at any stage of resettlement.