Back-to-school season is here again, which means thousands of kids across Toronto are getting ready to head into new classes, meet new teachers, and make new friends. But for the 13 kids currently living at Nellie’s, back-to-school may also mean starting at a new school, away from their friends and their community. This is because they recently arrived at Nellie’s, and are now registered at our local school for the fall. Moving into the shelter with their mom has meant leaving their home and all that was familiar to them, and now we’re working to prepare them for a smooth transition to a new school.

But Nellie’s wasn’t always intended to provide support to children. When Nellie’s first opened its doors with a 16-bed shelter in 1973, it was initially established for young homeless women dealing with teenage pregnancy, suicide, self-harm, crime, prostitution, ill-health and abuse. Over the years, in response to the overwhelming need, Nellie’s increased its occupancy rate to 36 beds and made the main focus of the organization violence against women and their children.

Then in 2017, thanks to a generous grant from La Fondation Emmanuelle Gattuso, we launched a children’s program to address the wide range of issues facing children living at the shelter, while also providing them with a safe space to play, explore, and laugh. Two years later, an additional grant allowed us to expand the program to also focus on supporting teens living in our shelter.

We now run multiple programs a week in our multi-room, third-floor space for children and youth of all ages. There is craft-based programming and story time for little ones, a cooking program for school-aged kids, a daily homework club for older kids, and Rock and Water, a world-renowned violence prevention program that instills anti-bullying and empowerment skills in an effort to break the cycle of violence.

These programs, supports, toys and dedicated spaces are important because more children than women come through our shelter doors every year. That’s because when a mom flees violence, more than one child often comes with her. These children didn’t choose to come to Nellie’s, their mothers did. They were torn away from their life, their schools, their friends and their belongings, and thrust into new surroundings.

Now, our job is to support these children in their unique healing process, making them feel safe, cared for, and at home. Ahead of their start at a new school, we work with each child to talk about the move from their old school to a new one, and what they can expect when they get there. Our shelter staff also work directly with school staff to help moms complete the registration forms, transfer transcripts, and create a safety plan. A mother and her child who are fleeing violence need to ensure that the child’s school is not only aware of the situation (and any potential behavioural problems that may arise as a result of the trauma the child has experienced), but also knows how to best protect that child.

We know that starting at a new school can be stressful for kids of any age and in any situation, and we’re thankful to the generous donors who help us continue to support the families who need us.

September is once again upon us, which means back to school for thousands of kids across the city. At Nellie’s, we do what we can to help the kids in our community get settled in.

For the children living here, back-to-school may also mean starting a new school, away from their friends, their community, and all that was familiar. This is because they recently arrived at Nellie’s, and are now registered at our local school for the fall. Moving into the shelter with their mom has meant leaving their home and most of what they had before.

“We work with families to support the kids in our shelter to make their transition to the shelter and to a new school a little easier,” says Ingrid Graham, Director of Development.

To get the kids living at Nellie’s ready, as well as to help families living in our community, we have 100 backpacks filled with supplies for kids ranging from kindergarten to Grade 12, thanks to a very generous donation from Hands Up Canada.

“These supplies go such a long way to alleviate the financial burden back-to-school means for families,” says Ingrid.

But for children starting a different school situation than the last time they were in the classroom can be a difficult adjustment. We work with each child to talk about the move from their old school to their new school, and what they can expect when they get there. And, our shelter staff works directly with school staff to help moms complete the registration forms, transfer transcripts and create a safety plan. A mother and her child who are fleeing violence need to ensure that the child’s school is not only aware of the situation (and any potential behavioural problems that may arise as a result of the trauma experienced) but also knows how best to protect that child.

Of course, it can’t be forgotten that most children haven’t been in a classroom since the beginning of April when schools across the province closed for in-person learning due to COVID-19. Those who chose to be in virtual school last year haven’t seen the inside of a classroom in almost 18 months. This can make the transition to a new school even more difficult.

“Like so many people, we truly hope kids going back-to-school do not have another year like last year where they had to work remotely for so long. But if they do, we will continue to support them by providing tablets and other supplies they need to connect to school,” says Ingrid, adding that La Fondation Emmanuelle Gattuso, who has been generously supporting our Children’s Program for a number of years, graciously paid for 10 tablets for the children living at Nellie’s to use as needed.

“We’re also really looking forward to our move to the new shelter because it will have a space dedicated for students to work—whether it be to do their homework or connect to virtual school. It will have computers and desk space, and kids can also use tablets there to do their work.”