National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

November is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Canada. At Victoria Women’s Transition House, we use the term intimate partner violence (IPV), but the idea is the same. According to the World Health Organization, intimate partner violence can be defined as a pattern of behaviour in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. It can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. IPV can impact anyone of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender and can occur within a range of relationships, including couples who are married, living together or dating.

We encourage everyone to be informed about the types of abuse, to recognize the signs, and to support those experiencing IPV to get help. The first step can be by simply visiting the VWTH website to learn more. Or take it a step further by seeking out support and guidance from a non-judgmental individual by contacting the Victoria Women’s Transition House 24/7 Crisis and Information line at 250-385-6611.

Halloween at the Shelter

Sharing special occasions with one another at the Emergency Shelter is important to provide a sense of community – especially for the children staying there – in an otherwise challenging situation. It’s about creating a bit of fun and allowing the kids to just be kids amid what can be a difficult and turbulent time.

This Halloween, the children at the Shelter created their own squash creatures with paints and googly eyes. They made some Halloween decorations to put up on the walls, created some costumes, and decorated pillowcases to go trick-or-treating. On Halloween, wearing their costumes, the children went trick-or-treating in the Shelter.

Gift Card Hampers Underway

The Holiday season is just around the corner, and we need your help! Join us in providing a bit of joy and peace to women and children by giving them a thoughtful gift card hamper under the tree.

VWTH staff match donors with a client family that had registered their preferred gift cards/stores with our Holiday Hamper Program coordinator. That family then receives a festive gift bag filled with gift cards from their donor.

This program empowers clients to select gifts and food of their choice for themselves, their children and their families – and helps to take a bit of the stress away as they begin to put their lives back together after fleeing an abusive situation.

Learn more, and take part in, our Gift Card Hamper program by visiting transitionhouse.net/holidayhamper.

Questions? Please contact the program coordinator at christmas@vwth.bc.ca.

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence is an international campaign that aims to both reflect on gender-based violence and put an end to it. Taking place each year from November 25 – December 10, this year the Canadian theme is "Come Together, Act Now".

It has been 35 years since the murder of 14 young women at Polytechnique Montréal (December 6, 1989). This act of violent misogyny shook our country and led Parliament to designate December 6 as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

We'll ask our staff and volunteers for their input sharing some of the ways that Victoria Women's Transition House challenges gender-based violence, and how others might become allies to our work. These messages will be shared though our social media networks throughout the 16 Days of Activism. Please watch our social media channels for more! 

Holiday Fund Drive Coming Soon!

Help Victoria Women’s Transition House help women and children fleeing violence and abuse.

Watch for our Holiday Fund Drive mail package including informative newsletter – coming to mailboxes – and our special donation insert in the Times Colonist soon! 

Donate online now by visiting:

transitionhouse.net/donate

Thrifty Foods Cloverdale Fundraising Drive

Drop by Thrifty Foods Cloverdale (3475 Quadra St.) from November 12 to December 5 and take part in their fundraising campaign for VWTH.

They will be hosting a donation drive to collect toys, games and gifts for our clients, as well as funds for gift cards. Last year, over 100 toys, games and gifts were donated along with 40 gift cards. 

Thank you to the staff and customers at Thrifty Foods Cloverdale for your thoughtful support!

Calling All Goddesses!

It’s back! The ever-popular Goddess Run will take place on Sunday, March 2, 2025 at Beaver Lake in Victoria, BC.

Register early for this 5km or 10 km walk/run and receive a stylish and cozy Goddess Toque (sent to you in December). Goddess Run registration includes a shirt, race bag and personalized race number.

Registration is now open, so get ready to join the Goddess community, raise money for VWTH and have a great time taking part!

Find all the details: goddessrun.ca

Aged to Perfection Gala

Thank you to the organizers and attendees at the Aged to Perfection burlesque gala and auction at the Scottish Community Centre on October 4th.

An initiative by local burlesque performer Shirley A Tease Productions and attended by a glittering array of performers and guests, part proceeds from this Gala event were directed to VWTH programs and services. This was a glamourous, show-stopping event and a whole lot of fun. Thank you all for the support!

Canadian Royal Purple

On October 17th, Purple Thursday, representatives from the Canadian Royal Purple, a national volunteer service club with a local chapter, donated 32 purple supply bags filled with toiletries and other items for VWTH clients. Our thanks to Joanna and Rosa Edith, pictured, for delivering these thoughtful items.

Purple Thursday was established to draw attention to the magnitude and impact of intimate partner violence and subsequent brain injuries. According to a new estimate from the YWCA Metro Vancouver and researchers at the University of British Columbia, for every concussion incurred by an NHL hockey player, approximately 7,000 women and girls in Canada are concussed because of intimate partner violence.

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.