Introduction
Welcome to the West Island Women’s Shelter.
Since 1979, the West Island Women’s Shelter offers a free, confidential and safe haven to women and their children who are victims of conjugal violence.
Our a multidisciplinary team offers a variety of services to women and children victims of conjugal violence as well as families and friends of victims and professionals working with them. We also provide specific trainings and workshops to educational institutions, businesses and health organizations.
To learn more about the West Island Women’s Shelter, we invite you to browse this site.
Whether you are a victim or know someone who is, we can help you.
Many women who are victims of domestic violence live in fear. They are beaten, raped or assaulted in different ways. Sometimes more insidiously behind the closed doors of their home, they suffer insults, denigration, the constant control by their spouse. They are destroyed slowly. Their children often witness the verbal or physical abuse. Women and children, all are victims. Too many people live in terror, afraid to leave.
If you are victim of domestic violence, by coming to our shelter you will find:
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- A house, a home for you and your children.
- A warm welcome by a counselor, as well as a competent and committed team.
- A coffee for you upon on your arrival to welcome you.
- A stuffed animal and a blanket chosen by each of your children to help them feel safe as soon as they arrive.
- An ear, a presence and comfort at any time of day or night according to your needs, your fears, your insecurities or those of your children.
- A place of support and empathy where we accompany women and children to better understand their experiences and to regain control over their lives.
- A house with women living the same situation as you and with whom, if you wish, you can develop bonds or even perhaps friendships.
Our Services
Myths and Reality of Conjugal Violence
How I Got PTSD From My Marriage
Stop. Just stop asking why a woman is so stupid and so weak when she stays in an abusive relationship. There’s no answer you can possibly understand.
Your judgment only further shames abused women. It shames women like me.
There was no punch on the very first date with my ex-husband. That’s not normally how abusive marriages start. In fact, my first date was probably pretty similar to yours: he was charming, he paid attention to me, and he flattered me.
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Help Us Make a Difference
As a non-profit organization, the Shelter is in great need of your help. Your support is the testimony of a community that refuses to be silent, indifferent …
25$ :
Offer support to a woman
living in our second-stage residence helping with the de-victimization process
25$ :
Offer support to a child living in our second-stage residence helping to diminish the effects of conjugal violence on her or him.
15$ :
Offer a teddy bear
or soft toy to a child
when she or he enters
the Shelter
5$ :
Offer a coffee
to a woman
arriving
at the Shelter
Redecorate bedrooms with us: Objective : 3,500.00$
Considering that the Shelter residence welcomes an average of 60 women yearly, with or without children, the bedrooms need frequent maintenance. Your donation will help us to redecorate rooms which haven’t been touched for several years, with a view to making them clean and welcoming for the women and children living there.
“At home, my husband forbade me from even sleeping in a bed. At the Shelter, I had a place just for me.”
Arranging the backyard – Alternat’Elle : Objective: 10,000.00$
Help us arrange the yard outside and install a play structure for the 14 families who live in our second-stage housing. You will be contributing thereby to a place where our children can relax, have fun and develop in a healthy way. Help us to make a difference in their lives and permit them to become children again, in complete security.
List of Our Material Needs
- BBQ
- Slippers for women and children
- Pyjamas for women and children (new)
- Baby monitors
- Duvet and Pillows
- Blankets, sheets, pillow cases
- Gift cards (Tim Hortons, Wal-Mart, Gas, Groceries)
- Diapers (sizes 4-5)
