The Women and Children's Shelter of Barrie (WCSB) needs a second transitional home.
The $500,000 campaign called 'Shelter Me' will be for women and their children who are leaving the shelter.
"We already have one transitional home, and it's been incredibly successful," says WCSB executive director Teresa Maclennan. "It was designed to be just for single women without children, but what we have experienced is, we are now housing women with their children at that location. It was not designed for that, and it's not big enough."
The WCSB is hoping to secure a duplex or triplex, or something with a coach house, that can accommodate at least three-sized families.
"We (the shelter) are only supposed to be at 27 beds, but we are always close to 35," Maclennan says. "We are always overcapacity, and we are experiencing very large families in our shelter. Women are coming in with three, four, and five children. We need to have an appropriate place for these families."
Maclennan says their first transitional home was purchased in the last two years during the pandemic. The organization hopes with financial support from the community they will be able to raise $500,000 to purchase a second residence.
Moving to a transitional home does not mean the person will lose the support system and programs offered by the shelter. They continue to be available to women who have fled domestic abuse and are in the process of continuing to rebuild their lives.
More information: https://barrieshelter.com/
Image supplied - Women & Children's Shelter of Barrie
