City of Hamilton makes significant investment in shelter and support services

Through a pair of recent motions supported by Council, the City of Hamilton will be supporting Interval House and the Flamborough Women’s Resource Centre with more than $250,000 in (non-tax revenue) funding.

Motion in Support of Interval House

Motion in support of Flamborough Women’s Resource Centre

Founded in 1986, Interval House was the first shelter in Hamilton dedicated to exclusively serving women and children who have experienced violence or abuse. Today, Interval House of Hamilton offers a wide variety of programs and services, including community-based programs that provide counselling, peer-support, legal advocacy, and system navigation.

Interval House is recognized by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services as the lead agency for the provision of rural domestic gender abuse services in Hamilton. This is particularly important for rural women, who experience intimate partner violence at a rate 75% greater than urban women. Moreover, in rural areas, victims of domestic violence face added challenges including isolation, lack of transportation, and lack of services.

As a program of Interval House, the Flamborough Women’s Resource Centre provides the only rural outreach to victims of domestic gender-based violence living in the Flamborough / Waterdown area. With grant funding from the City, the FWRC plans to expand their footprint, with a goal of creating an accessible hub in the core of Waterdown. Securing a larger service location will allow the FWRC to continue providing no charge counselling, safety planning, housing assistance, income navigation, employment readiness training and where necessary, legal advice. Further, the FWRC will continue to reach and respond to rural women in crisis, through the provision of occasional mobile services.

To learn more about the services of Interval House and the Flamborough Women’s Resource Centre, please visit: https://intervalhousehamilton.org/