Moments in the kitchen often remind us that food is more than nourishment. Over the last year, our kitchen has continued to be a place of connection, creating community for clients and staff to come together and share culture, conversation and restorative meals!  

This year, our Food and Nutrition team grew as we added a part-time coordinator with a background as a dietician. This Coordinator, Ama, connects with clients about the importance of healthy and balanced meals and runs cooking groups to teach life skills and accessible tips about nutritional meals. 

We know that new moms may have unique challenges when it comes to cooking and healthy eating. This year in our shelters we supported 39 children under two years old. New moms regularly connect with our Food and Nutrition team to ensure they are getting proper nutrition to take care of themselves and their little ones. 

Our new Food and Nutrition Coordinator often sits with clients at dinner and answers questions about adding extra nutrients into meals, breastfeeding problems and budget-effective options for grocery shopping after moving beyond shelter.  

From crispy rosti/pancake potatoes to chimichurri to smokey adobo sweet potato and black bean soup, the meals in the kitchen are never boring! See some of our favourite recipes from this year:

We were excited to add an Equity Lead this year to continue our journey towards Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Reconciliation. This role works closely within our Leadership Team to support with learning and development and looked at policies related to EDIA. Through this work, we were able to create new, deeply impactful partnerships and learn about how to be more equitable to each other, our community and our clients.  

Together, we worked with community partners, internal staff and Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) professionals to learn about different strategies for improving practices, understanding systemic harm and working towards understanding our own biases. By integrating the organization’s EDIA goals into the strategic plan, we continue to commit to anti-violence in all its forms. 

She Is Your Neighbour (SIYN) continues to be a bridge so education doesn’t feel out of reach. With over eight seasons and counting, SIYN is a place for people to learn about the realities of domestic and gender-based violence in a digestible way that centers survivors and their experiences. 

As Lillie Proksch, SIYN Producer and new host, shared, it is “an accessible way to do education,” meaning this is a resource that people can access on their own time and in their own space. People often tell us that this allso for growth at a time when someone is just beginning to understand the harm they’re seeing or experiencing. 

There is a growing understanding of prevention work. People are seeing how education is a way to disrupt the cycle of violence. As we interview industry experts, our approach towards ending violence also shifts. For example, Julie Lalonde shared some practical tips for Bystander Intervention, which can be utilized in our public presentations and Safe Neighbours conversations around addressing domestic violence when we don’t know what to say. This growing knowledge base allows people across the industry to be better equipped for community conversations. She Is Your Neighbour confidently addresses that advocacy is seen in the small everyday conversations challenging harmful beliefs and systems.   

Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region had an incredibly good financial year and finished the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, in a strong financial position. Management continues to have a strong focus on forecasting and economic management, including fundraising, to ensure the critical services provided to the Community are sustainable.  

Revenue increased 10% over the prior year, to just over $6 million. The increase is primarily related to increased funding from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) to support 10 more beds, which was received part way through the year. These beds were previously funded through other fundraising activities. This increased funding from MCCSS allowed management to add seven full-time and three part-time staff members during the year. 

The added resources were focused on bolstering support in a number of areas including: the shelter program; outreach focused on prevention work in youth education; clinical services and human resource and admin support. MCCSS continues to provide nearly 65% of the total funding received in the year.  

It is worth noting that even with the increased funding from MCCSS, it is not enough to cover all of the costs to run the critical services and prevention programs provided by the organization, and fundraising and grants are required and continue to represent over 30% of the revenue.  We are extremely grateful for the support received from our community, that allows us to operate all of the holistic programs focused on supporting those impacted by intimate partner violence while, at the same time, working hard to bring awareness and education focused on prevention now and for the future.   

Congratulations — and THANK YOU — to the management team and all the staff for another great year, and for the tremendously important work that you do everyday. 

Thank You

When we look back at this year, what stands out most is not any one program or initiative. Instead, it is the people and the ways in which they showed up to support women, gender-diverse individuals and children moving beyond violence.

Special thanks to the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services for being our main funding source. We want to extend our sincere thanks to our local funders. The continued financial support from the Waterloo Region Community Foundation, United Way Waterloo Region Communities, the Badge of Hope Foundation and the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation has been instrumental in supporting our safe shelter, outreach, prevention and education programs.

There are so many ways to participate in this cause and they all have a role to play. Some people showed up through donations, funding and partnerships. Others were involved through advocacy, conversations in their own circles and by simply staying connected. 

This work doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens because people choose to be part of it. Every day we see a community that wants to learn. They choose to make space for conversations that are not always easy, but are necessary. 

And so, this is a thank you! Thank you for being part of that collective advancement and for helping build the bridges that make change possible.