Hon. Jill Dunlop, Minister for Children and Women’s Issues, Sherece Taffe Board Co-Chair, Margarita Mendez, Executive Director. and Paula Fletcher, City Councillor for Ward 14 Toronto Danforth

Government invests $12 million but additional funds still needed:

On July 15, the Ontario Government announced a capital investment of $12 million to Nellie’s Shelter, making it possible for us to begin the process of moving to a new building.

For almost half a century, Nellie’s has sheltered women and children in a beautiful, historic residential building. But this space was designed for just 16 beds. Today, 36 women and children, kids from newborn to teenagers, reside within the same footprint. They share a total of nine bedrooms, five toilets, four showers and one bathtub.

“Women and children must live free from violence,” said Jill Dunlop, Associate Minister of Children and Women’s Issues, at the announcement at Nellie’s administrative offices. “Nellie’s is operating at capacity, and as a result, women and children in need of support are often referred elsewhere. This investment enables Nellie’s to build a new, welcoming space to help more women and children fleeing violence.”

For nearly a decade, we have been searching for a new building and are pleased to have found one in the same east end neighbourhood as our current shelter. The $12 million government investment helps us complete the sale and begin the necessary renovations. But in order to complete this important project, we need your help.

To support the renovations of the new building, Nellie’s is launching a fundraising campaign to help finance the cost of preparing and adapting the building for the women and their children who need us. We need an additional $3 million to complete the renovations and fund the purchase of the necessary furnishings and appliances. These much-needed funds are above and beyond our regular fundraising efforts, which provide the vital programs and services to meet immediate, specific and emerging needs of the women who come to Nellie’s every day.

The new Nellie’s will have private rooms equipped with individual washrooms, some rooms will be fully accessible, meaning they can accommodate women and children using mobility devices, an elevator for not only women with mobility issues but for moms with baby strollers and it will be pet friendly. The new shelter will still retain the charm, comforts and homey feeling of our current building.

“The new shelter will allow us to treat vulnerable women with the dignity they and their children deserve,” said Sherece Taffe, co-chair of Nellie’s board of directors.

When we move to our new shelter in the fall of 2020, we will also no longer be faced with the challenges of managing a separate outreach and administrative location as it will be large enough to house our office and programming space.

Ontario’s violence against women’s shelters serve more than 17,000 women and children yearly across the province. Nellie’s has a strong focus on supporting marginalized women who have experienced violence, including women who may have been impacted by other issues such as addiction and mental health challenges.

“Our government is committed to combatting violence against women in all its forms and lifting individuals out of poverty,” said Dunlop.

Help us prepare and adapt a new shelter for the women and children who need us. Donate today.