Shelters support women and children fleeing violence. We support shelters.

Women’s Shelters Canada brings together 16 provincial and territorial shelter organizations and supports the over 600 shelters across the country for women and children fleeing violence. Together, we provide a strong, unified, pan-Canadian voice on the issue of violence against women.

With our voice, we help increase awareness to ensure that policies, legislation and regulations are informed by the experiences and insights of our members — the provincial and territorial shelter networks. We create opportunities to exchange ideas, learn from one another, and share resources. We connect knowledgeable and dedicated individuals from coast to coast to coast, so that new ideas are born, best practices are promoted and transferred and those who work in our challenging field feel more connected and more supported.

All of this helps to ensure the women, children, and gender-diverse people who turn to shelters and transition houses in their times of need receive the most effective and compassionate support possible.

*Please note that Women's Shelters Canada does not operate any individual shelters and funds cannot be forwarded to individual shelters. If you'd rather donate to a local shelter, we suggest you do so directly. You can find a shelter near you using our website www.sheltersafe.ca.

Fund Designations

Support for Shelters & Shelter Ready Program:  We support shelters through a variety of ways, from sharing best practices and learning through exchanges and training programs to organizing group buys and raising and distributing funds for shelter programs.

Sheltersafe.ca and Techsafety.ca: Sheltersafe.ca is an online map to help women – and their friends and family – connect with their local shelter for safety, hope and support. Techsafety.ca equips shelter and transition house workers with the knowledge and resources needed to support people who are experiencing Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence.

Second Stage Transitional Housing: From 2022-2026, Women’s Shelters Canada is working to assist in building new second stage transitional housing across the country. Second stage transitional housing is a form of transitional supportive housing for survivors of domestic violence who are at risk of danger post-separation and need additional time and support to heal from their trauma and rebuild their lives. Through this project, WSC will assist up to 16 second stage transitional housing new builds.

Education & Advocacy: We educate the public and governments through publications (e.g. Shelter Voices) and research on how shelters keep women and children safe. We advocate for every woman in Canada to have access to comparable levels of services and protection no matter who she is and where she lives. We work towards ending violence against women.

Greatest Needs: These funds will be directed to critical needs.