History

• Open for referral and service on November 2, 1978. Shelter filled to capacity within two weeks.

• Extended service to include group programs for ex-residents (similar to today's outreach program).

• Participated in development of the Assaulted Women's Helpline - funded by Ministry of Community and Social Services.
• Cooking fire destroyed kitchen and dining room. Extensive smoke damage to rest of building. Twenty-three women and children safely evacuated from three floors. Approximately $65,000 damage - back in operation within 10 weeks.

• Addition done to shelter with support and funding from Ministry of Community and Social Services.

• Received notice of funding cuts of 5% from province and 4.5% from Metro

• Purchased 140 Islington Avenue for our outreach and administration offices

• Our new strategic plan will focus on moving towards a community development approach to working with women who are living in poverty. As well, we will be taking on a capital campaign to build a new shelter that will improve the living conditions for the women and their children, and will support a new way of providing residential services to woman-led families.

• Sons and Daughters Film Production Co. is donating their time and expertise to produce a public service announcement for Women's Habitat that we're hoping will be aired on local television stations. This is something that we would never be able to afford on our own. We will also be able to use this on our website and at our community events.
• After years (yes, years!) of permits and proposals, our outreach and administration building is finally finished! We are now an accessible building, making it easy to service women. We can now provide service to women in wheelchairs and women in strollers. We have a great front reception area, a larger program room, a more functional playroom and an accessible bathroom.
• We've planted a community garden - Women's Habitat clients have planted and are tending a community garden, with the help of Food Share at the Daily Bread Food Bank. This is a great opportunity for us - not only does is allow our clients to have affordable vegetables in the summer, it teaches a great lesson in sustainability.
• We were very excited to host to our very first "good food market" in October. Many of us take for granted our access to fresh, healthy food. This is a great opportunity for Women's Habitat to promote healthy, affordable eating, and provide nutritional information to our clients and the community. With the help of clients, we run the market and sell the food with a very slight mark-up - enough to keep the program sustainable - with weekly profits, we purchase the food for the next week's market.

• Beginning in January, we started running a health clinic in partnership with the Inner City Health Associates. Dr. Sheila Wijayasinghe, a physician, sees our clients and their children at the shelter.
• Rhonda Roffey, our Executive Director made her first appearance on The Michael Coren Show in March. Host Michael Coren and guests debate breaking headlines and current issues. Rhonda continues to make appearances on the show.
• We have hired three women through the City of Toronto's Investing in Neighbourhoods program. Investing in Neighbourhoods is a Toronto Social Services initiative that allows agencies like Women's Habitat to create needed positions within the agency, 100% funded for one year through the City of Toronto. This initiative provides women on social assistance with skill building opportunities and the potential to obtain references through paid employment. It's a win-win situation.
• We reached an agreement with Toronto Community Housing for ten, two-bedroom units for our clients. The units are for young parents under the age of 25. Adequate housing provides women with choices when faced with the decision to leave an abusive partner.

• Women's Habitat conducted its first Quality Assurance review with our clients. We wanted to make sure that we were delivering the type of quality service that the women that we work with need and deserve. In total, 30 women participated in the Quality Assurance study. Women were chosen randomly and represented both the shelter and outreach. The results were mainly positive. Of course, there were suggestions as to better improving service to our clients. The management team has met and created a plan to implement a number of the suggestions.
• We took a step back from the work we do and revisited where we have been, where we are and where we want to go. We explored our vision, mission and particularly the values that guide our work. After talking to our clients, staff and board, we agreed on five core values; equality, advocacy, safety, accountability and diversity. Our core values and beliefs guide our mission and are the roadmap towards achieving our vision.
• After more than thirty years in the same building, we are in need of a new shelter. A capital campaign committee, comprised of Board members and staff have been meeting for more than two years, putting together plans and background information for stakeholders. Members of the committee have met with representatives from the Ministry of Community and Social Services, Chair of the Toronto District School Board, Bruce Davis; our local Councillor's office and The Honourable Laurel Broten, MPP and our MP, Leader of the Opposition, Michael Ignatieff. All of these stakeholders are in agreement that Women's Habitat needs a new shelter. The committee has explored many options, including a possible partnership with the Toronto District School Board; the retrofit of a private building; or purchasing a private property and building from the ground up. No decision has been made at this point.
• We held our most successful fundraising event to date - the 5th annual Girls' Night Out, held at The Assembly Hall in south Etobicoke, raised more than $30,000 in one evening.