Women's Habitat of Etobicoke's mission
TWomen’s Habitat of Etobicoke (WHE) is a feminist, multi-service, community-based organization in South Etobicoke, serving diverse women and their dependents experiencing violence and poverty since 1978. In 2006, WHE opened an outreach centre to respond to the increasing needs for services for victims and survivors of domestic violence. We envision a future for all women, children, and youth that is safe, equitable, and free from gender-based violence.
We provide trauma-informed services to women, children, and youth impacted by and escaping gender-based violence through intervention, prevention, and collective action that drives systems transformation. These services and programs are delivered in our two distinct locations to address the impact of violence and poverty on women and their dependents which includes, safety audits, safety planning, trauma-informed crisis and ongoing counseling services, housing support services, advocacy and referrals to settlement and community resources, as well as skills and capacity building for promoting healthy relationships and prevention of gender-based violence.
How your contribution helps
Across Toronto, the need for safety, healing, and hope has never been more urgent. Last year alone, the Toronto Police
Service responded to more than 20,000 domestic violence incidents, 18,000 of which were intimate partner violence. In
Ontario, from November 2024 to November 2025, 43 women were killed in acts of femicide. These are not statistics—they
are lives taken, families shattered, and communities forever changed.
At Women’s Habitat of Etobicoke, we meet this reality every day. We walk beside women, children, and youth who are
navigating the aftermath of violence. And as gender-based violence becomes increasingly complex, we too have evolved.
Guided by our Shifting Gears framework, we are moving beyond crisis response toward long-term empowerment, deeper
prevention, and systemic transformation.
You are invited to join us to shift gears—intentionally and collectively—toward a future where safety is not a hope, but a
guarantee. Shifting Gears means moving beyond crisis response toward sustained, long-term empowerment. It means
investing—not in charity, but in transformation.
To end gender-based violence, we must address its roots. We must challenge harmful beliefs, disrupt generational cycles,
and create environments where healthy relationships are the goals.
This is why engaging men and boys has become an essential part of our prevention strategy.
Our programs for young men and boys focus on emotional literacy, consent, healthy relationships, and unpacking the
norms that contribute to violence. We create spaces where boys can explore vulnerability, understand accountability, and
learn that strength can coexist with empathy. We invite men to work with us, not as bystanders but as active partners in
shifting attitudes and behaviors that harm women, girls, and gender-diverse people.
Because prevention is not optional—it is the path to real change.
But this work requires resources, consistency, and community support.
Today, we are asking for your financial investment to ensure that the survivors (women, children and youth) we serve
continue to receive the compassionate, trauma-informed support they deserve—and that our prevention programs reach
the boys and men who can help change the future.
As we reflect on a year marked by rising living costs, increased demand for shelter beds, and the ongoing impacts of
trauma, your generosity becomes more than a donation—it becomes a lifeline.
