In order to effectively assist women and children who are victims of violence/abuse find and maintain housing within the District of Timiskaming, the Social Housing Program has partnered with the Pavillion Family Resource Centre.  With a shared understanding of violence and abuse against women we are better able to serve the women requiring our services.

Referral Agreement has been developed to affirm our commitment to its going implementation.  

Mandates of the Participating Agencies

The primary mandate of the Social Housing Program is:

• to provide abused women and their children with affordable permanent housing to enable them to leave an unsafe abusive situation;
• to keep with ongoing government initiatives to address violence against women, children and the elderly;
• to provide permanent housing for victims of abuse who wish to separate permanently from their abusers;
• to maintain a system that will verify and ensure that the status of Special Priority is reserved for those who truly need it, and allow these applicants to move ahead of other applicants on a Central Housing Waiting List; and
• to sustain ongoing communication with local community service agencies which work with victims of abuse; thus enhancing the appropriateness of referrals, improving the quality of verification and developing a mutual understanding of the roles which both the housing provider and the community support agencies play in providing their respective services.

The primary mandate of the Pavilion Family Resource Centre is:

• to offer services to women and their children who have experienced domestic violence, abuse and sexual assault.

• to support individuals in taking control of issues affecting their health and their lives.

• To work toward the prevention of violence and abuse against women and children.

Objectives of the Referral Agreement

The objective of the Referral Agreement is to develop consensus on the voluntary roles and services that will be available to victims of violence when:

• Pre-placement (a woman is seeking housing)

  • A transitional and housing support worker refers a client to the DTSSAB Social Housing Program

  • A woman in an abusive situation is homeless

  • A woman in an abusive situation is placed under the special priority policy

• Post-placement (a woman has secured housing)

  • A tenant identifies a need for violence against women support services

  • A victim of domestic violence is at risk of eviction

Principles

The Transitional and Housing Support Program includes the following principles:

• First consideration will be for the safety and well-being of the woman and her children.  

• Programs will assist women in identifying the choices and resources available to women and their children.

• Programs will respect a woman’s right to make independent choices.

• Services will be provided within a framework of anti-racism and anti-oppression regarding individuals requiring support.

• Perpetrators of violence against women should be held accountable for their abusive behaviour.

• Gender analysis will be used to educate the working group and the community about violence against women.

For more information on how to apply for Transitional Housing, contact the DTSSAB or the Pavillion Family Resource Centre.