Yorktown Family Services 2024-2025 Community Partnership Awards
November 7, 2025
Niku’s Story: Finding Her Voice at Yorktown Family Services
November 19, 2025
November is recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month across Canada. At Yorktown Family Services, our Violence Against Women Programs and Shelter Services provides 24/7 safety, support and a path forward for women and children escaping abuse — a reality reflected in the words of one resident who shared, “At Yorktown, I felt safe. I could finally breathe again and start planning for my children’s future.”
A Safe Haven in Times of Crisis
Yorktown’s Violence Against Women (VAW) Shelter provides a lifeline for women and children escaping abusive relationships. For many, the choice is stark: remain in an unsafe home or face poverty if they leave. At Yorktown, we offer an alternative—safe, transitional housing and the supports needed to rebuild lives free from violence.
More than a roof, the shelter provides counselling, safety planning, parenting supports, nutritious meals, and case management and crisis intervention. Our Child Advocate Program, including a unique Male Child-Advocate Worker role, ensures children receive specialized counselling and positive role models to help them heal. Staffed 24/7 by a multilingual, multicultural team, the shelter is a place where families find safety, dignity, and the tools to begin again.
2024/25 Year in Review
This past year, the shelter served 28 women and 47 children as residents, with stays averaging seven months. 491 women and children were supported through shelter and community-based services, including counselling, outreach, and our Here to Help program for children who have witnessed abuse.
Key achievements included:
- Infrastructure upgrades to enhance safety and comfort, including a new roof, flooring, and keypad security system.
- The launch of the installation of a Healing Garden as a legacy to Shirley Samaroo* and all who have lost their lives to domestic violence, offering a peaceful space for reflection and renewal.
- Migration to the TREAT Client Information System, streamlining records and enabling stronger data collection to improve care.
Professional development for staff, covering topics such as coercive control, Indigenous awareness, harm reduction, human trafficking, and LGBTQ2S+ inclusion.
Emerging Trends and Challenges
The year also brought growing challenges. Families are staying longer due to Toronto’s housing crisis, limiting space for new high-risk referrals. We saw an increase in larger families, infants, and children with complex needs, as well as mothers facing precarious immigration status. Staff responded with creativity and compassion, navigating high-risk cases, increased mental health needs, and systemic barriers to affordable housing.
Guided by Our North Star
At Yorktown, our clients are our North Star. At the shelter, every program, service, and innovation is guided by the needs of women and children. This means ensuring each family is safe today, while building pathways for a brighter tomorrow.
Looking Forward
In the year ahead, we will work to deepen mental health and addictions supports, strengthen housing pathways, expand tutoring and child programs, and continue to innovate through partnerships like the Redwood Mobile Healing Team. Yorktown’s VAW Shelter remains a cornerstone of our work: helping women and children move from crisis to safety, stability, and hope.
Strengthening Safety for Women and Children in Our Community
The demand for life-saving gender-based violence supports has never been greater, and critical programs are at risk without dedicated funding. Yorktown’s work to make home safe for women, children, and families relies on the full continuum of services: 24/7 shelter care, crisis intervention, trauma-informed counselling, child and youth support, and violence-prevention programs that help families rebuild their lives. Your support ensures that when a woman decides to leave an unsafe home, she is met with safety, compassion, and immediate help — not a waitlist. Hope starts with safety. Your support makes that possible, helping bring healing and stability to the families who need it most.
To support this work or learn how you can help make home safe for every family, visit https://www.