My Friends House in Collingwood is getting a big boost from the Federal government.
The women’s shelter received just over 221 thousand dollars in funding for a new pilot project this week.
Executive Director Alison Fitzgerald says the project is for 3 years, and it’s a supported living transitional program for abused women who have been significantly impacted by the abuse in their lives.
Fitzgerald says it was a fantastic moment when she got the call from Simcoe Grey MP Helena Guergis telling her that the shelter’s application was approved, because they have had this dream for a long time.
She says that getting a house as a gift last summer was when they realized the project was possible.
Women can stay in residence for up to a year, and Fitzgerald says the program gives women who have been abused a safe place to live, and a therapist alongside them at all times as well.
She says that the councillors will work with the women to develop individual plans with them to move forward in their own lives, and they hope to serve 30 women or more during the course of the pilot program.
Fitzgerald says that the women staying as part of the program will be paying rent, but she adds that rent will be based on their ability to pay.
She says they don’t want the program set up in a way that some women who have suffered abuse can’t access the service.