Celebrating International Womens Day
Aileen Baird, Director of Housing Services, shares how were working to improve life for women in Peel.
This year on International Women’s Day (March 8) we celebrate our amazing community partners and service providers. They provide critical, compassionate and life-changing services and supports to women experiencing crisis in Peel.
Here are some of the ways the Region of Peel’s Housing Services team and our partners are working to improve life for women in Peel.
- The COVID-19 pandemic made life even more difficult for women fleeing domestic violence. To ease some of that burden, the Region of Peel is working with the Canadian government to fund an expansion of Armagh House. This will allow staff to offer 10 additional affordable housing units to survivors.
- We provide shelter places for women at our Cawthra Shelter. We also secured an additional 60 beds for families by moving Peel Family Shelter to a new location in Mississauga. The shelter at Surveyor Road provides 110 units for families in need.
- The Region of Peel is also a funder of Ellen House a women-only Emergency Shelter in Brampton. Ellen House is operated by the Elizabeth Fry Society, which is an organization led by women and with women’s rights at its core.
- The Region supports the Human Sex Trafficking in Peel Region Strategy by providing safe housing options for victims and survivors.
With our partners, we’re taking steps to ensure women have equal access to housing and services in Peel. We’re switching to a needs-based approach to help our clients get the support they need in as few steps as possible. The aim is to help people GET and KEEP affordable housing and improve their experience.
Today we want to thank our partners, their incredible teams and Peel Region’s own dedicated housing staff who work on the frontlines delivering these programs.
While we know there is still much more to be done, it is important to acknowledge the work that is being done to support women in Peel.
On International Women’s Day 2022, and beyond, we will continue our efforts to #BreakTheBias and work towards a gender equal world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
All of us have a role to play if we are to live in a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.
