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Support Services

If you are a woman living in an abusive relationship or think you might be, you can call our crisis line at 705-728-2544 and speak with a counsellor. The crisis line is available 24-hours, seven days a week. If you are concerned about your immediate safety or the safety of your children, call 911.

Ways We Help

24 Hour Crisis Line

705-728-2544

Shelter counsellors are available 24 hours per day to respond to calls from women seeking information, support, counselling, or shelter. The crisis line is often the first point of contact for women who are thinking of leaving or planning to leave an abusive relationship. All service is confidential. Women can call as often as they like for as long as they require support. Women may come into the shelter or be referred to our outreach services or another community agency. This line is also available to people who call for information about a friend or loved one that they are concerned about, and to community agencies calling on behalf of a client. Counselors always must speak directly with the woman before residency can be offered.

Human Trafficking

In the Game? Want Support? We’re Here for you.
In partnership with Project Safe Horizon

Please call 705-728-2544

You have the right to be safe and protected. We can help you find a way out.

Shelter

The Women & Children’s Shelter of Barrie provides emergency shelter 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Our shelter can accommodate 27 women and children; each family has their own room and share communal living space with other families. We accept self-referrals and referrals from community agencies, law enforcement, and other shelters and social services. There are community services available through The Safe Pet Program for women who want to take their pets with them when they leave. Counselors always must speak directly with the woman before residency can be offered.

 

  • Services for Women
  • 24 hour crisis telephone counselling
  • Safe emergency shelter 24/7
  • Safety planning
  • Counselling
  • Support groups
  • Legal information
  • Court support
  • Information about violence against women
  • Referrals to community resources
  • Advocacy
  • Parenting support
  •  Colibri support French-speaking women aged 16 and over who have suffered, who are suffering or who could suffer violence in all its forms, in order to support them and equip them towards their self-determination.  
  • Nous appuyons les femmes francophones de 16 ans et plus qui ont subi, qui subissent ou qui pourraient subir la violence sous toutes ses formes, afin de les accompagner et de les outiller vers leur autodétermination.

Outreach

Outreach Services are available to women in the community who have experienced or are currently experiencing abuse and violence. Women can meet with a counselor, obtain legal support and information, or attend one of the psycho-educational or support groups that are offered throughout the year. These services are free and confidential. Appointments can be made by calling 705-721-9977.

 

  • Short Term Solution-Focused Counselling
  • Safety Planning
  • Information And Education About Violence Against Women
  • Referrals To Other Community And Social Service Agencies
  • Public Education About Violence Against Women
  • Legal Information And Support
  • Safety Planning
  • Legal Referrals
  • Accompaniment To Legal Appointments And Court Support
  • Public Education About Violence Against Women
  • Psycho-Educational Groups
  • Support Groups
  • Individual Counselling As Needed
  • Public Education About Violence Against Women

Abuse Checklist

Abuse is often subtle and insidious. It can happen intermittently or may occur frequently and consistently. Abuse can escalate to violence. Abusers use various techniques to control their partners. Abuse is a misuse of power and a violation of trust.

You are being abused if your partner:

 

  • Puts you down verbally
  • Calls you names
  • Shouts or yells at you
  • Ridicules your appearance, beliefs, religion or race
  • Is jealous and accuses you of having affairs
  • Isolates you from family and friends
  • Tells you how to act and dress
  • Criticizes you constantly
  • Blames you for problems in the relationship
  • Withholds information about your finances
  • Harms or kills family pets
  • Forces you into unwanted sexual acts
  • Physically abuses you in any way (hits, punches, slaps, chokes, shoves)
  • Threatens to harm or take the children away
  • Threatens to commit suicide if you leave
  • Opens your mail and/or monitors your phone calls
  • Follows you when you are out of the house
  • Accumulates debt in joint names without your consent

Tips On Leaving

If you are an abused woman & want to leave:

 

  • Don’t tell your partner you are leaving
  • Take your children with you when you leave and bring favourite items or toys
  • Plan an emergency exit
  • Keep money in a safe place for taxi, and phone cards
  • Make sure you have valuable documents (passports, birth certificates, marriage certificates, immigration papers, OHIP cards, SIN cards, bank books and back cards)
  • Bring documents that prove you have been living at the same address as your partner
  • Bring any prescription medication
  • Try to pen a bank account in your name only or in the name of someone you trust before you leave and save as much money as you can. Arrange to have the bank statements sent to a safe address
  • Keep extra clothing, house and car keys, money, copies or originals of important papers, and significant phone numbers at a safe location. If you can, have an emergency suitcase packed and ready to go.

Our Sponsors

NEED HELP? CALL:

705-728-2544