Impact Report 2024-25
Forward Together
Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region
Building safer futures for women and children moving beyond violence.
Provided
days of care to women and children
from April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025
Table of contents
Jump Ahead to These Sections:
Looking Back At The Year…
Message From Our CEO And Board Chair
We wanted to emphasize that we support more than women, while also staying true to our why. The reason we do everything we do is to help women and children live safer, happier lives free from violence and abuse.
— Jennifer Hutton, CEO
Introducing Our Strategic Plan
We know domestic violence is a complex issue that requires innovative approaches to eradicate. Over the next number of years, we are planning to move forward together by focusing on programming excellence, community leadership, organizational health, and awareness and education.
New Mission, Vision and Values
Our strategic planning last year revealed the need to create a mission, vision and values aligned with our evolving landscape. With programs like Engaging Men and Youth Education, we are working to support the full family in healing and education, knowing that this will ultimately support women and children moving beyond violence. We are excited to share this new direction with you!
MISSION
Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region supports individuals, families and communities to keep women and children safe today and prevent domestic violence from happening tomorrow.
Our Impact At A Glance
Prevention and education participants
crisis support phone calls and online chats
OUtreach clients supported
safe shelter clients supported
EMERGENCY SHELTER
Advancing Program Excellence Through Staff Training
To best support our clients, our staff’s wellbeing training and development continue to be prioritized. This year, we focused on training and skills development for residential staff to enhance consistent service delivery for our clients. After many challenging years adjusting to a new normal of escalated violence, residential teams benefited from the Reviewing Essential Standards Elements Training (RESET) program. The RESET program was developed and delivered in-house to establish a standard of care among new and seasoned staff who may approach similar work differently.
Clients in Emergency Shelter
Women*
Children
Empowerment Through Lifeskills Programming
One beloved group in shelter is Empowered Living. This group was co-designed by our staff and clients to provide different skills that can help in every day life. This flexible, 10-week group meets clients where they’re at, building off of their current knowledge base of different topics. Some things covered in the group include budgeting, meal planning, mental wellness, engaging your children in play and organizing the home.
Healing Through Food
Our Food and Nutrition program thrived this year, supporting healing and connection between our residents and staff. Our Food and Nutrition Coordinators regularly run groups like food bingo to encourage healthy eating and grocery shopping on a budget. Other highlights include our weekly coffee time session, which is an opportunity for staff and clients to casually connect and chat and celebrate the culture of our clients by cooking their traditional foods.
The Food and Nutrition Coordinators often do impromptu group cooking in the kitchen. It is so much fun because not only are they teaching the women, but they are learning so much from them, like how to do traditional meals with different spices and then incorporating that into their dishes.
— Leigh Savage, Residental Manager
Moving Forward with Compassion
This past year came with its share of challenges. Due to rising costs, funding not keeping up with inflation and an increased need for our services, we faced difficult decisions, including reducing staffing in some areas. These moments were not easy, but they are a reminder of why community support is imperative to our mission.
Thanks to the generosity of our community and by working closely with partners, we’ve been able to continue to meet the growing demands. We’ve deepened our understanding of client experiences through enhanced reporting and have made gains in our data and evaluation processes. We also leaned into community partnerships and education to ensure no one was left behind.
Recognizing the impact of stress and trauma in the field, mental health supports were prioritized for staff this year. We recognize the growing challenges and complexities of our work and the impact that it has on our team. We continued to enhance our mental health supports and we highlighted the importance of community within our staff teams through initiatives like Wellness Wednesday, Gratitude Boards and Spotlight Sessions. The organization came together to support each other and establish deeper connections.
Despite challenges, we continue to move forward while ensuring that safety and support are prioritized for those who need it most.
Child and Youth
%
of in-shelter programs prioritize the needs of children
%
of shelter residents are children under age eight
children supported in our emergency shelters
Welcoming Haven Treehouse
We were thrilled to welcome The Haven Treehouse Smilezone to our shelter this year! Generously funded by Michelle and Mark Trombley, this bright and playful space — valued at over $80,000 — was custom-designed by the Smilezone Foundation. It features vibrant murals, sensory tools, kid-friendly technology and interactive zones created to support healing and development.
Now, when families arrive at the shelter, they are met with a warm and welcoming environment that sparks play and offers a sense of hope. Since its installation, residents have expressed deep appreciation for the colourful, therapeutic addition. “It makes you feel hopeful, that there’s good to happen in the future,” a resident shared. The interactive elements and joyful design have brought new life into the space and we are beyond grateful to Michelle and Mark Trombley for making this possible!
Transitional Housing
The need for affordable housing continues to grow across Waterloo Region and beyond. Aspen Place supported six moms and 15 children throughout the year and we enhanced partnerships in the region to provide our clients with more options to safe and affordable long-term transitional housing.
Addressing Changing Needs
External factors, like rising cost of living and inadequate affordable housing options, caused residents at Aspen Place to stay longer and require more consistent support. The Aspen Pantry was established to reduce waste and lower costs of living, by providing the overstock from our emergency shelters to our transitional housing clients. We also created an Aspen Needs Closet, providing toiletries and household supplies. Each family used these resources more than once, some every week, and they have been a welcome addition.
Streamlining Housing Options
To assist clients in transitioning from shelter to permanent housing, we established a housing board for clients that contains contact details for landlords and other resources. This housing board is regularly updated and easily accessible — by creating a central spot for this information, it has made the process smoother for everyone.
We also created an online Transitional Housing menu for staff this year to showcase our expanded options for safe and affordable long-term housing. This menu includes a list of our current partnerships, eligibility criteria for each and links to refer clients to streamline and simplify the process.
Individuals supported
Mothers
children
Transitional housing provides the support that actually allows people to genuinely be empowered and independent.
— Emily Hedge, Outreach Worker
Strengthening Partnerships
“Where once we were able to support residents in transitioning to stable, long-term housing, we’re now seeing more women leave shelter only to face precarious or unsafe living arrangements. To address this growing gap, we’re actively seeking partnerships with landlords and housing providers who share our commitment to supporting vulnerable community members,” shares Christina Silva, Outreach Supervisor.
After opening Aspen Place in 2022, we realized the need for affordable housing is too great to handle alone. This year, we worked to strengthen our partnerships with developers, landlords and other connections. One partnership we are excited about is with Beyond Housing!
Beyond Housing will construct a 20-unit stacked townhouse development, ranging from one to four bedrooms, expected to be completed in Spring 2026. Forty per cent of these units will be available to our clients providing safe and affordable long-term housing.
We look forward to continuing to build these partnerships to alleviate the barriers that our clients face when creating a safer future.
Community Partnerships
This work is too hard to do alone so we rely on our community partners. We have strengthened and grown our partnerships. Working with community organizations ensures we are responding to the complex needs of the people we support. Whether through referrals to specialized services or collaborating on program delivery, partnerships enable us to provide comprehensive wraparound support.
We also recognize education as a form of partnership. Through training workshops facilitated by Women’s Crisis Services staff, we connected with Extend-A-Family, Reception House, YMCA and other organizations. In this training, service providers learned about domestic violence, including the complexities of the issue and how to support those who may be experiencing violence. Now, these service providers are more equipped to support their clients if violence occurs.
This year was an important reminder that ending violence requires partnership, community and a common purpose.
Eradicating violence isn’t going to come by just building bigger shelters.
—Christina Silva, Outreach Supervisor
THE IMPORTANCE OF PREVENTION
Prevention is just as critical as crisis response in ending gender-based violence, which is why this year we focused on prevention and education. To truly fulfill our mission, we must address violence at the root through awareness, education and open conversations.
This focus on prevention allowed us to prioritize public education within our community. We reached over 2,400 individuals — a notable rise from the previous year. From schools to service providers, workplaces to community groups, our team delivered workshops that addressed domestic violence, highlighted warning signs and outlined how we can help.
TOTAL PRESENTATION PARTICIPANTS
TOTAL SESSIONS
Youth Education Program
LAST YEAR'S TOTAL PARTICIPANTS
THIS YEAR'S TOTAL PARTICIPANTS
LAST YEAR'S TOTAL PARTICIPANTS
THIS YEAR'S TOTAL PARTICIPANTS
Expansion into schools
One of the biggest successes of the year was integrating the Youth Education Program into our local school board, reaching nearly 3x more students compared to the last year! The program had previously focused on community centres and partnerships with other organizations. In March 2024, the Youth Education Program officially launched in Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) schools after years of planning.
A presentation to school social workers led to significant interest and more referrals for the program, and we saw an instant spike in demand. Due to the overwhelming demand, one Outreach Worker supports school programming exclusively, while another Outreach Worker still focuses providing Youth Education in the community.
In the Youth Education program, we cover topics like self-esteem, consent, the impact of media and mental health, all with a goal of increasing coping skills and healthy relationships in the future. This program enriches young students’ ability to better understand empathy and healthy relationships. One student accounted, “that there is always something going on in other people’s lives that you may not know.” Each session, our Outreach Worker plants seeds that will inspire healthy relationships in the future.
Engaging Men Program
creating safer families, one man at a time
When the Engaging Men Program first launched in November 2023, the concept stirred hesitation. However, domestic violence cannot be addressed entirely without opening up the conversation with the people who cause harm. As the program evolved, so did our approach. Through individual counselling for men and community education, we are prioritizing safer communities by increasing how we foster male accountability. Unlike other male accountability programs, Engaging Men is not mandated, meaning every client enters the program voluntarily, we meet them where it is most convenient for them and there is little to no waitlist.
By supporting men who use violence, it is clear that these are not just violent people, but people who were children in homes where violence was present— stuck in the cycle. Shifting the lens from one of judgment to one of accountability transforms how we view violent relationships and promotes safety, well-being and actual change. We see how engaged these men are and move forward knowing that some men want to change but lack the resources, education and options. One client shared, “Through all of life’s challenges, this was the first time I have truly felt supported. I felt safe! I learned a lot. I can’t thank you enough for making this available.”
The Engaging Men Program represents a bold reimagining of how we approach gender-based violence prevention. It’s about accountability, but also about compassion and community. Thanks to donor support, this entirely fundraised initiative has already reached over 70 men to date. Every story of transformation adds up to a safer future — not just for women and children, but for everyone. We’re not just reacting to violence anymore. We’re building a world that prevents it.
Engaging Men counsellors (from left to right): Chip, Caleb, Judah and Pete
These men actually want to change. And they are changing.
—Christina Silva, Outreach Supervisor
Integrating with early intervention
The Engaging Men Program doesn’t exist in isolation. It’s a part of a broader strategy of our Early Intervention Program— a critical piece in preventing violence before it escalates. This project was designed to proactively identify individuals in a relationship that have escalating family conflict that is leading to domestic violence service calls to police. These calls were not yet leading to criminal charges; however, they would likely progress to such if interventions and supports were not provided.
Through the program, a WCSWR Outreach Worker provides timely joint intervention with a plain-clothed Intimate Partner Violence Unit detective to educate the individuals and make them aware of the impact of potential criminal charges. The Outreach Worker provides education on community resources, helps to assess risk, and provides safety planning.
This partnership model allows us to identify individuals earlier and offer them the tools to build healthier families and break cycles of harm. It’s about planting seeds before an escalated crisis happens and watching those seeds grow into healthier families. The majority of our Engaging Men referrals are from this partnership. Through police statistics, we know that the families accessing support through Engaging Men have fewer domestic violence service calls to the police following this intervention.
ENGAGING MEN CLIENTS
EARLY INTERVENTION CONNECTIONS
coaching boys into men
This new initiative, co-facilitated with the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region (SASCWR), focuses on prevention by training sports coaches to talk about healthy masculinity and gender-based violence with their students. The program, launched in October and with training done in January, reached nine schools and engaged two coaches per school. The program was led by Interval House of Hamilton with the goal of disrupting harmful “locker room” culture and promoting respectful peer relationships among young men. Although the initial funding has ended, the program thankfully continues to be supported through the National Action Plan.
ALL-TIME PODCAST DOWNLOADS
%
MORE DOWNLOADS THAN LAST YEAR
Reframing Prevention As Storytelling
This year, She Is Your Neighbour continued to grow as a bold and accessible prevention tool. What began as a storytelling project is now firmly rooted in our core services, helping the community understand the many layers of domestic violence through real voices. With support from the Region of Waterloo Upstream Fund, we’ve been able to officially integrate She Is Your Neighbour under the prevention umbrella, recognizing it not just as a communications initiative, but as a lifeline for learning, reducing shame and sparking conversation. The Upstream fund gave us the opportunity to create a role focused on solely on prevention. This gave us the ability to release two seasons of the podcast, Back to Basics and Empowering Indigenous Women, transcribe episodes and increase public education by over 35%. Prevention starts with awareness and these stories are helping shift perspectives in a powerful way.
A Story Worth Exhibiting: Schneider Haus Collaboration
For the first time ever, She Is Your Neighbour moved beyond headphones and screens and into a museum. In collaboration with Schneider Haus, we launched a visual exhibit featuring photographs of podcast guests in domestic spaces, like kitchens and bedrooms. These settings gave another dimension to their stories, highlighting both vulnerability and strength in the places people call home. It was an invitation for the public to see the humanity behind the voices and to witness the everyday settings where resilience takes root.
Amplifying Indigenous Voices
One of the most significant highlights this year was our recent season, Empowering Indigenous Women. This series offered a space to listen deeply to Indigenous voices and experiences around gender-based violence, colonization and healing. We received overwhelming feedback from listeners, many who said they finally felt that they have a way to respectfully engage and better understand the experiences of Indigenous communities. These stories served as an entry point into topics often left untouched and reminded us that storytelling is not just informative — it’s transformative.
Voices Empower: Walk to Break the Silence
The Biggest Year Yet!
Because of you, we raised more than $180,000 through Voices Empower: Walk to Break The Silence! We could not have reached this incredible milestone without your help. Thanks to the Voices Empower Committee and our incredible community for making this possible! More than $80,000 was raised through crowdfunding alone, in addition to funds raised through sponsorships, offline donations, merchandise sales, third-party events and support from our amazing community partners.
$180,000+
FUNDS RAISED
Spotlighting Your Support!
Our work is only possible with the collective efforts of our community. This work is too challenging to do alone, and we are so grateful to our community who raises essential funds for us to continue supporting women and children moving beyond violence.
Ren Navarro’s 50th Birthday Party
Kitchener Ford
Preston Hespler Rotary Club
Special screening of The (M) Factor thanks to Functional Medicine Uptown
Little Mushroom Dining Tapas and Trivia
Wilfrid Laurier Univeristy’s Alpha Omega Sorority
Donor Spotlights
I don’t want personal recognition for what I do from any one person. My goal is to help as many people as I can, and I hope to continue doing so for the foreseeable future.
— Peter Voss, WCSWR Donor
If we all took care of the garden in our backyard, the world would be a better place.
— Chris Dietrich, WCSWR Donor
Fundraising gives you a chance to not only raise money but raise awareness about an issue … that is the real value of choosing to fundraise.
— Tracey Appleton, WCSWR Donor
Treasurer’s Report
I am happy to report that Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region completed the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, in a strong financial position. This strong result is directly related to the leadership team’s continued focus on financial management. Fundraising results exceeded expectations, and coupled with disciplined expense management, led to exceeding the annual targets. Most importantly, this financial success supported the operational goals to continue to serve clients and the community with a high level of care and support.
Women’s Crisis Services started the year with a tight budget to maintain our current operations. The largest source of funding continues to be the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, with funding remaining relatively consistent this year. However, this funding alone is not sufficient to run the shelter and support programming. The next largest and critical source of funding is donations from fundraising, grants and bequests. We are all grateful and heartened to see the community’s continued generosity and support for women and children moving beyond violence.
Laurie Lengyell, Treasurer
Congratulations to the management team and all the staff on a terrific year! Thank you for all you do to deliver on our mission to end violence in our community.
And lastly, thank you to our community for showing up and supporting us. We are looking forward to another great year ahead.
2024/25 Revenue
2024/25 Expenses
*Complete copies of the financial statements are available upon request.
Thank you to our supporters!
Each year, community and funding partnerships play a critical role in our success as an organization, and this year was no different. Special thanks to the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services for being our main funding source, The Lyle S. Hallman Foundation and other regional funders like Waterloo Region Community Foundation, United Way Waterloo Region Communities, Region of Waterloo Upstream Fund, The City of Cambridge and local family foundations, businesses and individuals. We are also grateful for the many people and organizations that fundraised on our behalf and supported our initiatives with their time, efforts and financial support.
Our work is only possible with the collective efforts of our community. Together, we are building a safer future for women and children to live free from violence. Thank you for your ongoing support and commitment.
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