Safe at Home: A Pilot Program for Women-Identifying and Gender-Diverse People Experiencing Partner Violence

Mission Services in partnership with MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions (St. Michael’s Hospital, a Site of Unity Health Toronto) is proud to announce that programming has begun for Safe at Home Hamilton. Safe at Home is a homelessness prevention program for individuals experiencing Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence. In this model, women and gender-diverse individuals (with or without children) receive supports to stay safety at home in their community. The Safe at Home model has been used in Australia for over 20 years, and can also be found in France, the U.K., and New Zealand. This is the first survivor-centered Safe at Home program in Canada. This new program is part of Mission Service’s Inasmuch House; the first Women’s Shelter in Canada. 

Safe at Home was developed with the knowledge that Intimate Partner Violence is a leading cause of homelessness amongst women and gender diverse individuals and with the increasing unaffordability of housing in Hamilton and beyond there is an urgent need for creative solutions to this complex problem. Safe at Home was designed to work in collaboration with other serves such as emergency shelters and transitional housing. 

Safe at Home is led by a Steering Committee of 15 government and community agencies who have come together to address this complex issue with an innovative and intersectoral solution. By taking a tested international model and working together to adapt it to our community, this Steering Committee is filling a gap in the service landscape and improving the lives of Hamiltonians. 

WHAT IS SAFE AT HOME?

Safe at Home is a homelessness prevention program offering women, with or without children, experiencing violence. The Safe at Home Model provides supports to help individuals or families keep their housing rather than finding  an emergency shelter or other means.

The Safe at Home program is designed to create an evidence base for Safe at Home programs in Hamilton and Canada. Ideally this pilot will pave the way for this service to continue and be scaled up across the province, starting with cities similar to Hamilton.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

Those who are...

  • 18 years of age or older (excluding dependent children)
  • At low to moderate risk of (re-)experiencing physical harm
  • Experiencing threatening, controlling or coercive behaviour from partner
  • Willing to undergo a safety check of their home and accept adjustments

*We consider support around pets when leaving a violent relationship. We feel that this model is uniquely positioned to provide support to those with pets by allowing participants to bypass the shelter system, which generally does not allow pets.

SAFE AT HOME OFFERS:
  • Safety and security: Home safety audits, safety enhancements, ongoing safety planning and risk assessments
  • Housing: Support with portable housing benefits, support with finding market-rent units
  • Multiple wrap-around services: Case management, referrals and system navigation
  • Economic security: Emergency discretionary funds
  • Services for children: Referrals made to appropriate services

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