Happy New Year from everyone at Victoria Women’s Transition House!

As we welcome 2026, we want to reflect on the past month and celebrate the impact your support has made. December was a month full of generosity, care, and community engagement – all made possible because of kind donors and community supporters.

Thank you to all who responded to our Winter Fundraising Campaign. Together, your contributions will help us continue to support our women and client families, and our programs and services – everything from women’s counselling, PEACE children’s camps, 50+ support programs, food security, our 24-hour Crisis Line, transitional housing, and so much more. Rising to the challenge, a generous anonymous company donated $10,000 as a December 6^th Giving Tuesday match, resulting in digital donations of over four times that amount within 24-hours: $41,000, plus the original $10,000 gift. A tremendous community response! Thank you all.

Community support continued with donations of so many gifts-in-kind. From holiday ornaments, trees and other decor to help deck the halls at all our locations; to 146 pairs of cozy jammies from La Vie en Rose Langford and Bikini Village Mayfair Centre; to thoughtful care bags from the Victoria Yacht Club and friends and PowerWest Athletics and friends; to handmade crocheted blankets and quilts for clients at our Emergency Transition House; to comforting soups created by Clarement Secondary students; to a generous donation from Sapphire Day Spa and their customers; and countless more in-person donations of so many things to support our clients – all of which have helped bring comfort, dignity, and care to the women and children we support. We are truly grateful. 

The Holiday season at Victoria Women’s Transition House is always a bustling atmosphere of kindness and hopefulness as we experience so many thoughtful acts of support toward our clients. Staff and volunteers work hard to make the time as special as they can for those who stay with us. Because of them, clients across our sites enjoyed celebrating and sharing together.

This holiday season, VWTH’s Holiday Hampers helped bring care, dignity, and practical support to 223 women and 257 children across our programs. Made possible by the generosity of 140 donors and the dedication of our incredible volunteers, these hampers offered families a bit of relief and warmth during a time that can be especially challenging. We are deeply grateful to everyone who gave their time (like our dedicated volunteers, pictured), resources, and kindness to help make the holidays a little brighter for women and children in our community.

And thanks to our friends at Dance Victoria and the Victoria Symphony for the donation of tickets to The Nutcracker ballet, with the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers, and to the Victoria Symphony Christmas Pops concert. Dozens of VWTH clients and their families enjoyed meaningful moments of joy and connection at these exciting performances.

These are just a few highlights of the hundreds of gifts we received leading up the Holidays. Thank you all for warming many hearts through your caring generosity.

This holiday season, we are incredibly grateful to Thrifty Foods Cloverdale, led by Front End Manager Darcey Kek (pictured far right) for their continued generous support of Victoria Women’s Transition House. Their commitment to community care makes a difference, helping create warmth, connection, and hope for the women and children who seek help from VWTH, not just during the holidays, but throughout the year.

Thanks to their generosity:

• Residents at both our Emergency Transition House and 50+ Second Stage enjoyed special holiday meals with all the fixings, creating meaningful moments of togetherness.
• Over 90 brand-new toys from their annual Toy Drive brought joy and comfort to children across all our programs.
• 37 x $100 Thrifty Foods gift cards helped families choose essentials or special treats for their loved ones.

These gifts supported connection, helped ensure children experienced the excitement of receiving a gift, and gave families the dignity and flexibility to meet their own needs during a season that can be especially difficult.

Thank you for standing with women and children impacted by gender-based violence in our community when it matters most.

The VWTH 50+ Support Program provides both one-on-one and group support to those who are currently experiencing intimate partner violence or have experienced intimate partner violence in the past.

Turning the Tide: Creative Wellness for 50+

Turning the Tide is a free, 8-week arts-based program offered by Victoria Women’s Transition House Society for women aged 50+. Through creative expression, mixed-media journaling, group discussion, and information sharing, participants will explore self-compassion, self-care, boundaries, safety, and more. The program centres around empowerment, connection, and self-discovery in a supportive, welcoming environment. All supplies are provided.

This group runs Thursdays from February 5 to March 26, 2026, 11:30 am to 1:30 pm (location to be determined). The program is open to self-identified women, including cisgender and transgender women, as well as nonbinary individuals who identify within the women’s community.

For more information or to register, contact linal@vwth.bc.ca or 250-592-2927 ext. 223.

Funding for this group is generously provided by The Tony and Mignon Fenton Trust and individual donors.

Fashion Splash

Saturday, February 21

Nomad Market Events is hosting Victoria's premier local designer fashion event, the 12th annual Fashion Splash, at the Victoria Scottish Community Centre, on Saturday, February 21. The event features a runway-style fashion show showcasing the talented local fashion industry here on Vancouver Island.

Victoria Women’s Transition House is excited and honoured to be the beneficiary of the Fashion Splash silent and online auction proceeds.

For more information and to buy tickets, please visit their website. To receive 20% off Early Bird tickets, use the promo code FSEB on the online ticket platform. This offer is valid for the first 50 tickets sold, across all ticket levels, including VIP, and ends January 17, 2026.

For more information and to buy tickets, please visit their website. 

Victoria Goddess Run

Sunday, March 8

Victoria Women’s Transition House is proud to be one of the charity partners of the 15th annual Victoria Goddess Run taking place on International Women's Day, Sunday, March 8 at Beaver/Elk Lake. What a wonderful way to celebrate being a strong woman by participating in the Goddess Run!

If you’re looking to set a fitness goal this year, the 5K or 10K walk or run along this lake-side trail route may be a perfect fit for you. It’s an accessible goal for anyone.

Goddess Run registration and fundraising is now underway. Please lace up those runners today, join us at this fun, inspiring event, and consider making a donation in support of Victoria Women's Transition House today!

VWTH 3rd Annual Glow Gala

Saturday, May 2

Save the Date!

The Glow Gala is back! Join us for our third annual Glow Gala, Saturday, May 2 at the Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort. Step into an evening of elegance, creativity and connection and celebrate the courage and resilience of women and children impacted by intimate partner violence.

Tickets on sale soon. Stay tuned to the VWTH website for more information!

Interested in purchasing a table or sponsorship opportunities? Email carolynb@vwth.bc.ca.

Check out a video from last year's Glow Gala below!

In May 2024 (BC’s) Attorney General appointed Dr. Kim Stanton to conduct an independent review of the Province’s treatment of victims and survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence in the legal system, and to propose improvements. Dr. Stanton released her Final Report (the Report) in June 2025. The Report confirms what we’ve been hearing from survivors and frontline advocates for years—intimate partner and sexual violence remain pervasive, drastically underreported, and often met with systemic barriers in the legal system. In short, intimate partner and sexual violence are a systemic crisis.

On December 9, 2025, the Fall 2025 Update to Dr. Kim Stanton’s Independent Systemic Review of the British Columbia Legal System’s Treatment of Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence was released.

Read VWTH’s statement by Executive Director Bahar Dehnadi (pictured) on this as an important step toward a more coordinated, survivor-centred response to intimate partner violence in British Columbia.

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Territory Acknowledgment

It is with much respect to the Lekwungen and SENĆOŦEN speaking peoples of the WSÁNEĆ, Esquimalt, and Songhees Nations, on whose traditional territories the Victoria Women’s Transition House Society is located, that we make this acknowledgment with the expressed shared hope to live in communities free of intimate partner violence.