Harvest Celebration at the Shelter

A wonderful, communal dinner was enjoyed by the women and children staying at our Emergency Shelter to celebrate the fall. Staff and volunteers worked hard to cook an extra special meal, and one resident helped with the turkey and pies for dessert. Residents and children who wanted to, created table decorations, decorated the dining room and added their thanks to the “gratitude tree”. Thank you to the donors who provided the extra food for this Harvest Celebration and for the personal care items that went into small gift bags for residents.

Transitional housing is the bridge between two situations. For our clients the Emergency Shelter is a safe escape from an abusive or violent relationship, but it is only a temporary respite. The goal during a woman’s time with us is to help her take the next step into a different life, and this includes somewhere to live. 

Our VWTH Housing Support Worker, Erin, is always busy. She supports the Shelter residents as well as clients at our Third Stage 50+ Transitional Housing program, and additional clients accessing our other programs.

The first step with any client is an intake meeting where the Housing Support Worker finds out as much information as possible about the client and their unique situation. Women who have experienced intimate partner violence often face multiple barriers when looking for housing. Having one-on-one support means that these factors can be taken into consideration, and as many resources as possible brought to the situation. Factors such as brain injury, language or literacy barriers, age or disability, can all impact the search for housing along with financial considerations.

The Housing Support Worker can research housing options based on this intake session and present them to the client. A volunteer helps support the program by undertaking a regular ‘housing scan’ sharing up-to-date local, rental listings broken down by cost.

It’s a hands-on, supportive process where VWTH empowers the client to be the one who finds housing, but with the Housing Support Worker alongside them throughout the process. Sometimes this looks like attending a walk-through with the client or advocating on their behalf to a landlord. Erin explains: “Looking for housing is very intimidating. For these women it’s not just that housing is expensive, they have multiple barriers: some women have been financially abused and don’t know how to create a budget or how much rent might be; they might not have landlord references; they could be facing racial biases. It means a lot for them to have someone who will go to showings with them, so they know they don’t have to walk through this alone.”

Problem-solving and encouraging clients to think differently about their options are key Housing Support Worker skills. In a very competitive and expensive housing market, clients might hope that someone will find housing for them. Erin says she offers the next best thing “I tell them that we’re going to work on this together.”

We were very happy to be invited to the Provincial Employees Community Services Fund (PECSF) Charity Expo and Fall Campaign Kick Off in September. We had the opportunity to share information about VWTH to interested attendees, who can then opt to make a donation through automatic payroll deductions. PECSF, also called the Community Fund, is the Province of British Columbia’s unique, employee-driven workplace giving program. Started by caring, community-minded public servants in 1965, it has raised over $50 million for charities throughout the province. During the fall awareness campaign and pledge drive, which runs from September 26 to November 10, 1,000 provincial employee volunteers coordinate fun workplace events to encourage employees to donate to their favourite charity.

We are very grateful to be a recipient of multi-year funding in support of our Food Security program through the PECSF fund supported pool. We thank all the Provincial Employees who make contributions to local charity through payroll deductions. 

We need your help with our Holiday Hamper Program. A gift card hamper will make all the difference this holiday season for a woman who has left an abusive relationship. You can help her buy gifts for her children and put a special meal on the table. Please register as a Hamper donor on our website today. 

It was 1974 when the first Emergency Shelter was opened by Victoria Women’s Transition House, which means that 2024 is our 50^th Anniversary! This milestone will be marked in a number of ways over the coming year, with opportunities to remember our history, recognize and honour the people who have ensured our continued success, and spread the word about the work that still needs to be done to create communities free of intimate partner violence.

As we prepare our anniversary plans, we would love to hear from you! Do you have memories that you would like to share? Were you a past member of staff, volunteer, board member or client? Please add your contact information to our “Alumni” list through the form on our website – you can share a story with us there too!

You can also email communications@vwth.bc.ca to share a story, memory, or to let us know what VWTH means to you.

Once again the Goddess Run will be taking place in 2024 and will be raising funds and awareness for the Victoria Women's Transition House. A January Chilly Virtual Challenge will get everyone motivated with their 2024 goals, with the Goddess Run live event taking place on Sunday, March 3, 2024 at Beaver Lake in Victoria, BC. Register early to 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 will open in November, 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

In Case You Missed It...

Here are some articles that we recently shared on social media:

• Laura Bates' powerful piece in Grazia UK shedding light on the international gaslighting and victim-blaming of Jenni Hermoso is a “stark reminder of how dismissals like this affect countless women's confidence in reporting.”

My piece on the horrendous international gaslighting and victim-blaming of #jennihermoso in this week’s @graziauk Including: - how familiar… | Instagram

• In honour of Monique Bégin, feminist pioneer and one of the first women to be elected to the Canadian House of Commons, who died September 8th. Sharing from the archives, 50 years after the Royal Commission on the Status of Women, Monique Bégin reflects on CBC Radio

'Simple justice': 50 years later, Monique Bégin reflects on the Royal Commission on the Status of Women | CBC Radio

• The Professional Women's Hockey League chose tennis legend and equality icon Billie Jean King to launch their inaugural draft.

Just getting started: Tennis, equality icon Billie Jean King sets stage for PWHL 'trailblazers' | CBC Sports

• Reconciliation Starts with Education. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation hosted a week of Lunch and Learns, you can watch them all on their YouTube channel

National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation - YouTube

• On display now at the Sidney Museum is The Laundry Room, reflections from women artists on their past, present, and future experiences with the laundry, often with tongue in cheek, and the social, personal and political aspects of this activity. Until November 30

The Laundry Room – Sidney Museum

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.