Archives for August 2022

Archive for August, 2022

A message from Executive Director Jyoti Singh

Posted on: August 31st, 2022 by Nellie's No Comments

The move to the new shelter in February has opened up a lot of new possibilities for us. It is no secret that in the old building, we were cramped for space. At 8,900 sq. ft., we had 36 beds in only nine bedrooms. Our Children’s Program was held in a single, small playroom in the basement. There were few private areas and because of the lack of congregate spaces, in-shelter group programs often had to be held at our Administrative and Community Services Office a few blocks away. (An obstacle which would sometimes deter women from attending.)

Now, aside from the fact that we have up to 40 beds across 22 bedrooms (each with their own bathroom), the entire third floor is dedicated to providing impactful programs for women and their children. Anyone who has ever lived through a major renovation or construction project knows that the settling-in process, and the finishing touches process, is never ending, but just being in this new building opens up our ability to provide help and support far beyond crisis housing and support programs. It allows us to better empower women in achieving their individualized goals while also working to create the social change needed to stem the flow of violence on a systemic level.

In the spring, we became the first gender-based violence organization in Canada to implement the world-renowned anti-bullying program, Rock and Water, to support the healing and growth of children living at Nellie’s. A few months later, we introduced PAVE Prevention (Proactive Anti-Violence Education) for the women living at Nellie’s. It is a trauma-informed program dedicated to creating safer workplaces and communities around the world by providing training on proactively preventing, responding to and healing from violent events. But the goal of PAVE is even greater; we are raising funds to enable Nellie’s staff to undergo PAVE facilitator training in order to teach these proven prevention tools to our community partners in an effort to manage violence and micro-aggressions before they become crisis situations.

Our capital campaign also continues as we raise the funds needed to convert the building into a fully accessible one. (Currently, it is partially accessible as the elevator does not go to all floors. As well, only the basement building entrance is accessible as there are only stairs, and no ramp, at the front entrance.) When someone with a disability comes to Nellie’s – any disability at all—we want her to know that we are here to help her, and being fully accessible is one of the ways we can make sure she knows that.

Our role in the community is a demanding one, but we are proud to be leading change by developing innovative solutions to shape a clear and distinctive path forward for those who need us most. It is easy for organizations in any sector to continue to follow the same tried and tested path. But as we approach our 50^th anniversary in 2023, we are committed to trying new approaches and tactics in order to make an even greater impact. Some may be more successful than others, but leading change is about being innovative and thinking differently so that one day, we will realize a world free of oppression and violence for all women and children.

For more information on supporting Nellie’s, please contact Ingrid Graham, Director of Development at Ingrid@nellies.org or at 416-645-1419 or click here to donate now!

Park Yoga Toronto Shows its Support for Nellie’s

Posted on: August 26th, 2022 by Nellie's No Comments

Beatrix Montanile was living in Los Angeles when she first started attending, and later teaching, yoga in the park classes. It was the early 2000s and these pay-what-you-can yoga classes at Runyon Canyon Park would one day become a huge phenomenon, changing the way people viewed teaching yoga in North America. But at the time, it was a new and novel concept.

When she moved back to Toronto in 2005, it was into an apartment near Riverdale Park. It was then that an idea suddenly came to her: if people practiced yoga in the park in Los Angeles, why couldn’t they practice it in the park in Toronto during the summer months? And so, Park Yoga Toronto, with its pay-what-you-can model, was born.

“The whole point of park yoga is to make it accessible to the community. Anyone can join without feeling intimidated by being in a studio,” says Trixie (as she is affectionally called by her students), adding that even children and pets are welcome.

For several years, she continued to teach yoga every Saturday (and then Sundays, too) in Riverdale Park during the summer months and in a nearby church during the winter months. In 2011, she opened her own yoga studio, The Flying Yogi, a Suspension Yoga^TM studio and teacher training centre in Toronto. Instead of that becoming the end of Park Yoga, it became the beginning of something greater.

“I decided that Park Yoga could be about being accessible to the community while also supporting the community. I had heard about Nellie’s, and their work really moved me. I myself have experienced domestic violence and abuse and it is a horrific thing to be in a place that is supposed to be your safe place — the place you call home — and have it become a nightmare,” says Trixie.

Summer 2022 is Park Yoga Toronto’s 18^th season and the 12^th in which a portion of the proceeds are donated to Nellie’s. Each season runs from June through Thanksgiving and it has grown far beyond Trixie teaching classes at Riverdale Park. There are classes every day throughout the summer taught by a number of different yoga instructors in various parks around the city, including one in North York and one in Thornhill.

“It has become this whole beautiful community. Instructors keep approaching me and asking to teach so I tell them to find a park,” says Trixie.

In May, Trixie permanently shuttered The Flying Yogi. This fall, she will be opening The Flying Yogi Mérida, a Suspension Yoga^TM teacher training centre and Suspension Yoga^TM holiday retreat in Mexico. But it still won’t be the end of Park Yoga Toronto.

“Yoga in the park is the part of yoga that I really love. Park Yoga brings together the community. We get to be together, practice together and do something good for the community, together. I won’t give it up. I will just keep coming back to Toronto every summer.”

Thank you, Trixie, and every yoga instructor who helps make Park Yoga Toronto a success! Your generosity and passion mean so much to the women and their children who come to Nellie’s.

Meet Dana Granofsky: Nellie’s co-chair

Posted on: August 4th, 2022 by Nellie's No Comments

A board member since 2017, Dana Granofsky has played a key role in guiding Nellie’s through a number of major changes, primarily the purchase, renovation and move to our new shelter.

“Being a part of ushering in this evolution for Nellie’s and seeing the final results come to life is something I’m really proud of,” says Dana, who first sat on the Fund Development Committee as a community volunteer prior to joining the board.

Dana is a single mother of two and the owner of a BGM Strategy Group, a Toronto-based consulting firm that advises governments, charities, non-profits and the broader public sector to design shared decision-making processes within complex stakeholder environments. She is also a Harvard trained mediator. In the spring of 2022, she took on the role of Nellie’s Board of Directors co-chair, alongside Donnalea Sparling.

“Volunteering as part of this organization, I’ve watched Nellie’s grow and develop. Right now, Nellie’s is in a really exciting place and I’m excited to be able to bring my knowledge and experience to further its evolution before my [three-term maximum] time on the board is up.”

With the move to the new shelter now behind us, Dana says the board can now shift its focus to leading social change through education and advocacy by introducing new vital programs and services that will meet immediate, specific and emerging needs. What Nellie’s has always known about the prevalence of gender-based violence in our society garnered more attention throughout the pandemic and is resulting in greater investment in services for women and children facing poverty, violence and oppression, says Dana.

“Nellie’s has been at the forefront of identifying needs, generating solutions and pushing the envelope for decades. It is what uniquely positions us to be a leader in this space,” says Dana. “We recognize that any woman, or woman-identifying person, could be a client of Nellie’s and unfortunately at some point in their lives, might have to.”

But, Dana says, the barriers and challenges faced by the women and their children at Nellie’s today are far more complex than our founders could have envisioned. She’s honoured to be leading the board toward building the next generation of approaches.

“Nellie’s is building the future, brick by brick. Change is not something you suddenly see, it happens gradually. First you build the necessary foundation, then you are ready to start placing all the rest of the important work on it.”

Thank you, Dana, for your time and service to Nellie’s.