Crisis Lines
The Redwood Crisis Line
If you are experiencing gender-based violence, we are here for you 24/7.
Text: 647-370-8300
Live chat: iDetermine.ca
Call: 416-533-8538
TTY: 416-533-3736
Assaulted Women’s Helpline
The Assaulted Women’s Helpline offers a 24-hour telephone and TTY crisis line to women in over 200 languages who have experienced abuse. The helpline provides counselling, emotional support, information and referrals.
Website: www.awhl.org
Phone: 416-863-0511
TTY: 416-364-8762
Toll-free: 1-866-863-0511
Toll-free TTY: 1-866-863-7868
Legal Resources
Barbara Schlifer Commemorative Clinic
The Schlifer Clinic provides free legal services in family law, criminal law, and immigration and refugee law to women who have experienced violence and abuse.
Website: www.schliferclinic.com
Email: info@schliferclinic.com
Phone: 416-323-9149
Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO)
Community Legal Education Ontario provides legal information and advice to help you understand and exercise your legal rights. They serve people who face barriers to accessing the justice system, including income, disability, literacy, and language.
Website: https://www.cleo.on.ca/en
Immigration Canada
Immigration Canada is where you can create your own account to apply to study, work or immigrate to Canada as well apply for citizenship, permanent residency or refugee protection. It provides step-by-step instructions of these services and applications.
Website: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship.html
Legal Aid Ontario
Legal Aid Ontario is for low-income families that need support with legal matters such as family law, domestic violence situations or Refugee and immigration Services.
Website: https://www.legalaid.on.ca/
Luke’s Place
Luke’s Place provides women who have experienced intimate partner violence living in Durham region free legal advice on family law issues. They also offer a Virtual Legal Clinic service and a comprehensive list of family law support throughout different regions of Ontario.
Website: www.lukesplace.ca
Email: admin@lukesplace.ca
Phone: 905-728-0978
Toll-free: 1-866-516-3116
Project LISA – Legal Information and Access
Project LISA is a no-cost legal support service for women fleeing intimate partner violence within the Greater Toronto Area. They support women by providing information about family law, referring qualified lawyers, and helping women who qualify receive legal aid certificates.
Website: www.projectlisa.ca
Email: projectlisa@ncjwctoronto.org
Phone: 416-633-5100
West Toronto Community Legal Services
West Toronto Community Legal Services provides legal support and help individuals with applications such as permanent resident card (PR card) or citizenship application.
Website: https://eyetfrp.ca/
Housing Supports
Access to Housing Toronto
Access to Housing Toronto is a website where you can create your own online portal to access and complete a Rent Geared to Income applications as well as a Special Priority Application. You can sign into your client portal and view your application and edit it at any time as well as take part of the choice based housing offer process. The website also provides further programs that are currently being offered such as the Canadian Ontario Housing Benefit.
Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA)
If your landlord is trying to evict you or you think your rights are being violated, CERA may be able to help you. CERA provides free, individualized services to renters in Ontario who are facing challenges in their housing.
Website: https://www.equalityrights.org/
East York and East Toronto Family Resources (EYET)
EYET offers many support services, programs and resources to individuals and families to increase the well-being of individuals and families, including licensed child care and housing services.
Website: https://eyetfrp.ca/
Streets to Homes Street Outreach & Support Program
Streets to Homes Street Outreach services provides street outreach and housing-related follow-up supports to assist people who are experiencing homelessness and sleeping outdoors in finding and keeping housing. Supports include harm reduction supplies and services, mental health support, as well as housing support among many other services.
Landlord and Tenant Board
Landlord and Tenant Board provides educational information to renters. You can also find legal forms that can be presented from a renter to the landlord.
Website: https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/
Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association
This site features a directory of all the access centres to social housing across Ontario
Website: https://onpha.on.ca/Content/About/About_non-profit_housing/Coordinated_access_centres.aspx#Toronto
Ontario Works
Ontario Works supports individuals to apply for financial support for low-income families or the Ontario Disability Support Program.
Website: https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontario-works
Mental Health Supports
Women’s College Hospital (WHC)
WCH’s interdisciplinary Women’s Mental Health Program provides women-centred mental health treatment to address the psychological after-effects of trauma.
Website: www.womenscollegehospital.ca
Email: info@wchospital.ca
Phone: 416-323-6230
Ontario Network of Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Treatment Centres
This site features a directory to the 36 Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Treatment Centres across Ontario. Counselling services and therapeutic support to address the impacts of violence and trauma varies between centres.
Website: www.sadvtreatmentcentres.ca/find-a-centre/
Email: info@sadvtreatementcentres.ca
YWCA Toronto
YWCA Breakthrough program focuses on healing through the arts and offers a variety of different supports groups to women who have experienced violence and abuse.
Website: www.ywcatoronto.org
Email: EHostland@ywcatoronto.org
Phone: 416-4877-7151 ext. 267
Women’s Health in Women’s Hands
Women’s Health in Women’s Hands provides mental health promotion services, including short-term counselling, group sessions and workshops.
Website: www.whiwh.com
Email: info@whiwh.com
Phone: 416-593-7655 ext. 7
Education and Employment Opportunities
The Redwood HVAC Staffing
The Redwood HVAC Staffing supports survivors of violence with a pathway to economic self-sufficiency as licensed Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Technicians.
Read more: https://www.theredwood.com/redwoodhvacstaffing/
Learn More About Gender-Based Violence
Cycles of Abuse
The abuse that you or a loved one is enduring may seem random, but we know from research that it follows a pattern.
Document: Learn more about the Cycle of Abuse here
One Love
One Love educates young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships, empowering them to identify and avoid abuse and learn how to love better.
Website: https://www.joinonelove.org/
Gaslighting in Intimate Relationships: A Form of Coercive Control That You Need to Know More About
Are you enduring mental and emotional abuse from someone who is harming you? You may be a survivor of gaslighting. This resource can help you understand what gaslighting is and give you some strategies for what to do about it.
Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC)
METRAC works with individuals, communities and institutions to change ideas, actions and policies with the goal of ending violence against women and youth. METRAC publishes resources, games and apps to help you know the signs of violence and how to access justice safety and support.
Website: https://www.metrac.org/?doing_wp_cron=1654799045.9679300785064697265625
OAITH Training Hub
Ontario Association of Interval & Transition Houses’ (OAITH) courses are designed to train those who are either working or would like to work in programs and organizations who are supporting survivors of gender-based violence. For those working in the broader social services sector who want to increase their skills and knowledge about gender-based violence, OAITH’s Training Hub will equip you to be prepared to respond effectively and promote survivor safety outcomes for those you are supporting.
https://training.oaith.ca/login/index.php
Safety Assessment & Risk Management Package and Her Toolkit
In Canada, one woman every six days is murdered at the hands of her intimate partner or ex-partner. Countless more women are at risk of ongoing physical and emotional harm as a result of violence at the hands of their current or ex-partner. This may include same-sex partners, ex-partners, parents, older children and caregivers.
Placing the safety of women and children at the forefront of all we do at The Redwood led us to make a shift from the traditional ‘risk assessment’ and ‘safety planning’ approach to a Safety Assessment and Risk Management (SARM) model. With this shift we hope to reduce women’s vulnerability and exposure to harm.
Thank you for your interest in our work. We appreciate the opportunity to present this model to other agencies and organizations within our communities.
This work always builds on what has come before. We hope you will find the approach and tools useful in supporting women and children to explore all of what safety means to them and will give you additional knowledge and understanding in the work you do every day.
The two links below give the English version of the Table of Contents for the Safety Assessment & Risk Management Package and Her Toolkit:
To preview the Table of Contents for the Safety Assessment & Risk Management Package please click here.
To preview the Table of Contents for Her Toolkit please click here.
If you would like to access the full documents, in either English or French, please send us your request by completing the form below.