Who We Are

Herstory of the Welcome Centre for Women

In July of 1989, five women concerned about social justice and poverty issues came together to begin exploring the need for a women’s agency. During the following six months, a needs assessment was conducted, and gaps in services were identified. The process of incorporation, obtaining non-profit status and developing fundraising initiatives was established. In February 1990, service delivery began at 142 McKay Avenue. Volunteers became a vital part of the organization.

The aim of the Centre was to create a non-threatening, non-adversarial, comfortable, participatory and supportive environment in which women felt a sense of empowerment. The staff defined empowerment as a model of social support that presented a joint endeavour by the client and staff to increase individual choice.

The philosophy of the Centre’s support model reflects a women-centric perspective, which has led to the development of a women-centric program based on this empowerment model.

In 1998, the Welcome Centre was approached by the Social Services Department of the Corporation of the City of Windsor to provide emergency shelter to women experiencing homelessness. Various negotiations continued over the following months, always on the assumption that the City of Windsor Community and Social Services Department would be funding the Welcome Centre to undertake this initiative. After a very specific consultation with the Centre’s Board of Directors, two fundamental decisions were made. These were:

Larger quarters would have to be purchased.
Current funding and existing staff would not be available to enable any of these initiatives to proceed.

New quarters were purchased at 263 Bridge Avenue to replace former smaller quarters at 142 McKay Ave. In January of 2000, the Welcome Home Women’s Shelter Program was created and began accepting women into shelter. In 2005, the Centre underwent major renovations, increasing from 8 to 12 beds and making additional changes to the structure of the building. In 2015, under agreement with the City of Windsor, the Welcome Centre began providing off-site Housing Support and Shelter Access to families experiencing homelessness. In 2017, the Centre added 5 additional mats on the floors of common areas to attempt to accommodate more women during times of high shelter access. This remained the bed use while the Centre underwent a lengthy process of determining the need for a new and expanded space. After several declined offerings on buildings, the Centre ultimately remained at Bridge Ave until the municipality received funds to assist with sheltering measures that supported infection prevention and control measures during COVID-19.

In 2021- the city of Windsor approached the agency regarding a purchased property at 500 Tuscarora Ave, in downtown Windsor. A former hotel, the building underwent an intense renovation process to increase its suitability for sheltering. In July of 2022, the Centre relocated to the space and expanded to include beds for up to 32 single women and 21 families (with overflow potential for upwards of 29 families during times of community system capacity). This new space also included the Centre’s involvement with the Shelter Health Network, with an on-site medical space, expanded offices, a children’s area, and common areas. This relocation marked the largest change management process in agency history- with expansions across positions and renewed investments in programming.

Women's shelter Randy on bridge street location

Overhead photo of women's centre shelter

Mission

To actively transition women+ and families out of homelessness through emergency shelter and peer-supported services.

Vision

Every woman+ and family out of homelessness – no exceptions.

Values

Evidence-based

To provide the most effective services possible, we commit to focusing on projects and programs that are evidence-based and data-informed.

Feminist Community Leadership

We are committed to being vocal intersectional feminist change-makers within the various systems that support women+ and families experiencing homelessness.

Flexibility

Our programs and services are innovative and responsive to emerging community needs that impact marginalized women+ and families experiencing housing precarity and homelessness.

Harm Reduction

We focus on programs, policies, and practices that minimize negative impacts and promote autonomy, including supporting people without judgement or coercion and never requiring that people stop using drugs to be able to receive our support.

Inclusivity

We provide low-barrier and trauma-informed programs that acknowledge the right to equitable service access to all. women+ and families.

Peer Engagement

We strive to increase the leadership and input of people with lived and living experience of homelessness and other challenges, knowing that accountability to our clients is integral to ensuring that our services are appropriate, relevant, and effective.

*Women+ embraces all women, including trans women, in addition to non-binary individuals.

All staff, students, and volunteers working at the shelter are women who are striving to become role models of empowered women.

The women involved with the shelter believe patriarchy is a system that does not work for women and children; they are engaged in changing the laws and creating more options for women while helping the community to acknowledge the impact of gendered violence, poverty, racism and all other forms of oppression has on the lives of women.

Advocacy and Coalition Building

The Centre offers advocacy in order to:
Safeguard the rights of women when they may be feeling vulnerable
Speak up & stand alongside women not being heard, denied services, being treated poorly or disrespected
Enable women to make informed choices about and remain in control of their own decision-making and service access processes.
The agency previously sat on the Windsor-Essex County Homeless Coalition, which provides a mechanism for discussion, problem identification and problem-solving on issues related to homelessness, as well as coordinating and implementing a community response to homelessness and related needs in our community.
The agency, at any time, sits on many different community committees, roundtables, etc., locally and nationally, in areas of homelessness, poverty reduction, food security, housing as a human right, women’s health, harm reduction, etc.

How We’re Funded

The Ontario Works Act defines the provision of emergency hostel services as a discretionary service. The City of Windsor administers Centre assistance through purchase-of-service agreements with community agencies; primary funding for the Centre is provided through the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing via the Homelessness Partnering Program (HPP), which is a provincially-based fund that is provided in a block funding format. This fund accounts for approximately 85% of the agency’s core funding.

The Centre also works diligently throughout the year to establish and maintain active community connections in order to increase donations of gifts in kind, funds,

etc. Throughout the year and depending on program needs, various private and public sector grants may be pursued in alignment with the Centre’s current strategic plan items. At the time of writing, this includes Canada Summer Jobs funding and Ontario Trillium Foundation Funding (both capital and operational).

The Welcome Centre also participates as a registered agency with the Bingo Association, operating charitable bingos monthly and in accordance with all Bingo Association Standards and Guidelines.