Women’s Shelters Canada (WSC) will be launching an online library of promising shelter practices. The online library will facilitate the sharing and exchange of promising practices within the shelter sector by identifying, collecting, and displaying promising practices developed by shelters across Canada. WSC Associate Member shelters will be able to add their practices to the library, download information to help them replicate or adapt other practices, endorse the practices on the site, and share feedback with each other. This initiative emerged from our members’ desire to connect with each other and develop a co-learning space that captures the depth of their work. Overall, the online library is aimed at strengthening practice, confidence, and innovation within the VAW shelter sector.

WSC will be taking the following steps to develop the online library:

  • Develop a process for identifying promising practices within the sector
  • Encourage shelters to contribute their promising practices
  • Work with shelters to capture and document the promising practices in a user-friendly fashion
  • Create an accessible, user-friendly online space to host the practices.

Advisory Committee

We are excited to announce an Advisory Committee for the Online Library of Promising Shelter Practices. Members of the Committee will bring their valuable insights and years of experiences in the shelter sector to help us launch and run the project. The Committee is helping WSC develop ways to recognize promising practices, provide feedback on documentation style, and design the online library.

On the Advisory Committee, we are thrilled to have:

  • Cindy Easton from Mountain Rose Women’s Shelter Association, Alberta
  • Neena Randhawa from Harmony House, British Columbia
  • Melissa Decelles and Tracy Whitby from Agape House, Manitoba
  • Nadia Losier from L’Accueil Sainte-Famille, New Brunswick
  • Laverne Blake from Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter, Ontario
  • Tana Troniak from First Step Women’s Shelter, Ontario
  • Melpa Kamateros from Shield of Athena Family Services, Montreal

If you have any questions or suggestions about this project, kindly reach out to Chandra at csaha@endvaw.ca. For more information, check our information sheet!

Stay tuned for more updates!