Since 2017, Shelter Movers Ottawa has been providing moving and storage services for those experiencing gender-based violence and are fleeing abuse. Since the beginning, we’ve collaborated with community partners to support those transitioning to a life free of violence and abuse. While moving and storage will always be the core of our operations, we’ve gone beyond moving and found new ways to help our partners and community.
What else does Shelter Movers Ottawa do?
Gender-based violence does not exist in a vacuum, and life beyond abuse is often not linear. While we are only one small part of a survivor’s journey, we want to create supports wherever we can. This is why, wherever possible, we will advocate for the needs of survivors and be there for our community.
How have we done this?
We’ve continued to support our community by utilizing our resources. When we’re not moving survivors, we’re delivering meals (over 10,000 meals to date!) with help from our partners at Lumentum. When our friends at The Caring and Sharing Exchange needed to get their boxes filled with donated school supplies and backpacks back to their main office, our amazing volunteers were eager to help and ready with trucks and muscle. Our volunteers are trained and ready for whenever one of our partners needs help. We’ll often help our shelter partners move furniture or belongings into or out of their residence; recently we helped Interval House move beds, dressers, and nightstands from their main shelter into a neighbouring home for their expansion. We’ve even moved full shelters (over 100 women) into their new spaces.
In some instances, instead of putting our physical strength behind things like moves, we use the power of the pen and are ready to speak up and speak out about gender-based violence issues. We’ll take to the media about the harmful rhetoric and judgement that survivors face, or put our support behind initiatives like affordable and community housing.Â
Through our social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn) and on our blog, you’ll find awareness-based content from all our chapters that isn’t only about getting the word out there about not only our services, but about red flags to look for in potentially abusive situations, about the different types of abuse, and other resources to find the support you need.
Woman Abuse Prevention Month
November is Woman Abuse Prevention Month. At Shelter Movers, we believe that every individual has a role to play in ending gender-based violence. 44% of
Common emotional abuse tactics: recognizing the signs and seeking support
At Shelter Movers Waterloo Region, the majority of the individuals we support have experienced some form of emotional abuse. Many abusers may use subtle tactics
What is Cultural and Spiritual Abuse?
According to Statistics Canada, 44% of women who have been in an intimate partner relationship have experienced some form of abuse. For Indigenous populations, that
We will always be here to support our clients in any capacity that we can.
Want to support Shelter Movers Ottawa? You can do so by:
