Ernestine's Women's Shelter

Over the past few weeks and months, we as a global community have been going through some drastic changes to the way we live our lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At Ernestine's, we are fortunate to have an outstanding staff and a wonderful community of supporters and donors to help us through this trying time! Since we cannot physically open our doors to welcome all of our wonderful supporters into our shelter to express our thanks and to show you in person how your gener...osity has impacted the lives of every single woman and child who use our services, we have prepared a virtual shelter tour where Sharlene Tygesen, Ernestine’s Executive Director, will show you around and give you an update as to how the COVID crisis has affected the shelter and how we have adapted our programs and services to meet the complex needs of our in-house and outreach clients. A big Thank You also goes to the wonderful Alex Huard (@thealexhuard) who donated his time and skills to create this beautiful online tour of the shelter! Thank you for Standing Up For Women and Protecting Children! #StandUp4Women #StandUp4Ernestines https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmibCrrDbUg

The Spirit of Giving is indeed sweet! The wonderful Richard Heft and Martha McLeod donated much-needed funds as well as 33 boxes of the delicious xxi Dulce chocolates for the staff, women, and children at the shelter to celebrate the arrival of spring! A big shout out also to Andrea Henao from xxi Dulce for making the treats nut-free so everyone can enjoy them safely! Thank you for making this spring extra sweet!!... #StandUp4Women #StandUp4Ernestines

If you’re experiencing domestic violence, it’s ok to leave, even during a pandemic. Safety and supports are available.

Thank you to Takeda Canada for their generous $6,250 donation from their Takeda Has Heart campaign, which aims to give back to their local communities! This donation means so much more as it comes at a time like this and because we were selected by your wonderful employees! We feel immense gratitude to have been chosen as one of the four nominated charities and to also have received the opportunity to speak at Takeda's virtual information session on March 29th to share abou...t the work we do at Ernestine’s. A special thank you to the fantastic Alva Singer and Amanda Jacobs for helping organize and facilitate this donation and the presentation! We at Ernestine’s are looking forward to the day when we can safely welcome Takeda employees at the shelter for a volunteer experience so your team can witness first-hand the impact your donation had on the lives of those who turn to us for shelter and support! #StandUp4Women #StandUp4Ernestines

Let's stand up today (and every day) for trans and non-binary people to recognize, respect, and celebrate their voices and contributions! #TransDayOfVisibility #TransVisibility #TDOV

Shelters reported that the women admitted are scoring higher on danger risk assessments, with higher indicators of lethality. #StandUp4Women #StandUp4Ernestines

The amazing McDonald's Canada team led by Abby and Jon dropped off food items from their recent food drive. As the pandemic continues, it brings out local heroes like the McDonalds teams who are supporting families in need and making an impact as many are struggling to put food on the table! Thank you to everyone who showed us they care by giving and making this donation possible!... #StandUp4Women #StandUp4Ernestines