About Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter
Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter was opened in 1983 by a group of community members who saw a need for a safe place for women and children fleeing violence and abuse.
Since then we have embraced and broadened our mandate to welcome Two-Spirit, Trans, Non-binary and gender diverse people fleeing violence and abuse.
Our Values
We strive to create a deeply and genuinely welcoming environment for all. Our work is trauma-informed, person-centered, equity-driven, and guided by our inseparable and deeply interconnected core values:
Compassion • Respect • Equity & Liberation • Autonomy
OUR MISSION
Why We Exist
Ernestine’s provides advocacy, crisis intervention and shelter to adults and children experiencing violence, including Women and Two-Spirit, Trans
What We Do: Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter
Ernestine’s is a 32-bed emergency shelter with 14 private bedrooms. We provide a home for individuals and their children – with the average stay being 5 months – until we find appropriate housing for them. During their stay, we provide them with all the necessities they might need (new bedding, clothes, school supplies, toiletries, baby supplies, prescriptions not covered by OHIP, loaded Presto cards, and anything else they might need).
In addition to shelter clients, we support over 700 adults and children from across the GTA through our Outreach Program. The shelter’s Outreach clients have access to counselling services and programs as well as the shelter’s on-site donation rooms and food bank.
We provide a range of holistic services to our shelter and Outreach clients. Our services and programs include 24-hour crisis assistance, individual and group-based counselling support, skills exchange programs, as well as legal, housing, and immigration support and advocacy.
Since we opened our doors in 1983, we have supported over 15,000 individuals and children.
Anti- Black Racism Policy and Anti- Indigenous Racism Policy
At Ernestine’s, we are deeply committed to creating a safe, inclusive environment where everyone—participants, employees, management, board directors, volunteers, students, and visitors—can work, volunteer, and access our programs without encountering Anti-Black Racism or Anti-Indigenous Racism.
Operating within an intersectional feminist anti-racism and anti-oppression framework, Ernestine’s acknowledges our role as a settler organization and our responsibility to act in solidarity with Indigenous communities. We strive to decolonize our institutions and ourselves, recognizing that the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples is crucial to achieving liberation and ending violence against gender-marginalized individuals.
Similarly, we are dedicated to confronting and dismantling Anti-Black Racism within our organization and the broader community. Our commitment extends to challenging systemic inequities and fostering a space where every individual is respected and valued.
For more details on our policies and practices, please click the button below.
Strategic Priorities
Ernestine’s strategic planning process started in 2024, and its priorities have been identified and approved through a rigorous, consultative process. They build on the successes of the Ernestine’s 2025-2028 plan, which focused on: Pursue Service Excellence, Improve Access, Cultivate a Values-Centred Culture, Grow & Diversify Funding . These strategic priorities will guide our planning for programs and services, and assist our team members in prioritizing Ernestine’s operational activities.
Pursue Service Excellence
We will continually improve our services by deepening performance measurement to enhance our delivery model. We’ll also continue to build partnerships with underserved communities and like-minded organizations, and expand our efforts to include GBV prevention.
Improve Access
We will influence sector transformation to improveequitable access to GBV services. We’ll achieve this by joining with GBV providers in developing sector-wide outcome and success measures, and by offering other providers specialized training in harm reduction and serving clients with complex needs.
Cultivate a Values-Centred Culture
To make our organization stronger, we will nurture a culture of equity, belonging, and resilience. We’ll achieve this by improving staff engagement and retention (focusing on hiring, onboarding, compensation, and mental health and wellness offerings), enhancing feedback mechanisms for staff, clients, and volunteers, and conducting an equity audit.
Grow & Diversify Funding
We will amplify the transformative work we do bygrowing and diversifying funding to meet the increasing need for our services. We’ll use targeted impact campaigns to showcase our transformative work, helping us connect with new supporters. Additionally, we will identify and cultivate new partnerships to support our mission.
