They offer mentorship and allyship for women and girls in vulnerable circumstances through financial support and advocacy.
“Women and children in our community are hurting. We saw through the pandemic that single moms, black, Indigenous radicalized folks, those with disabilities, particularly women, were going to be hit hardest,” said Maryam Monsef, Women United founding chair. “Women felt more vulnerable and were more vulnerable and so were their children.”
Members and donor support help the United Way to fund programs through the Culinary Collective and Elizabeth Fry Society.
The United Way says a significant portion of investments goes towards their 20 partner agencies, 14 led by women.
“The pandemic showed us that all that hurt, all that pain and all that suffering, that women’s leadership is key to recovery,” said Monsef. “When women are doing well, the multiple organizations in our community including United Way and other agencies led strongly by women are better off.”
Every six days a woman in Canada is killed by her domestic partner according to statistics presented by the United Way. Emergency housing for these women and their children is often less accessible than housing for men, says Betsy Farrar, United Way manager of community impact.
She notes that the current Point In Time count of those experiencing homelessness proves that women are less likely than men to seek these services.
“The research shows that women avoid co-ed shelters due to past experiences of violence within those settings and locally, there’s just not enough options for women to access emergency shelters,” said Farrar.
Farrar says there are 32 beds designated to men, 32 co-ed beds, and seven women-exclusive beds in local emergency shelters.
