Give up or show up?

Yeah, sure.

So Nelson House of Ottawa Carleton will be 35 years in 2027.

Wow.

Yeah, I know.

It's a big accomplishment.

I'm really looking forward to planning all the things to celebrate our existence, even though I will always say that the goal will be for us to never have to exist.

But as long as we have to exist, I want to make sure that we're doing good work.

So we are a first stage emergency shelter for women and children who are fleeing violence.

We have 19 beds for women and their children.

And with us being first stage, we're typically the first place that women come.

What I like about it is that, you know, sometimes in these systems we have to have referrals and we need to speak to professionals in order to get access to services.

But women can call on their own.

It's not like they need a social worker or anyone to call for them.

What we do is we have our frontline staff who will do an initial phone assessment if we have space to ensure that they meet the mandate.

And as long as we have space, we take the woman in.

So we offer shelter, we provide all of their basic needs and necessities while they are here.

We have our frontline staff who help them navigate their way through the systems that be so that they can find themselves to safe.

secure independent living outside of Nelson House because we're a first stage shelter typically the stay is supposed to be around three months so it's a very short period of time to get all of the things in order but sometimes what happens because housing and lack thereof is a real issue in the city that women are here longer, especially if they have two or more children because larger families take longer time to get housed.

But we have, In addition to our frontline staff, we have a case manager who supports the navigation of all of the things that be.

We also have a children's program coordinator who helps be that advocate for the women as they navigate all things family related.

So they are kind of the liaison in between everything.

Us at Nelson House, the women and the supports that they need in the community.

We have just recently started a partnership with Andrew Fleck Children's Services to have licensed child care on site specifically for the children of Nelson House, which is incredible.

And then we also have a transitional support worker.

So she is the one who works with the women as they transition out of Nelson House and for up to a year and sometimes beyond when they leave Nelson House just to kind of be that support person, the person that can help them stay healthy.

Yeah, sure.

So Nelson House of Ottawa Carleton will be 35 years in 2027.

Wow.

Yeah, I know.

It's a big accomplishment.

I'm really looking forward to planning all the things to celebrate our existence, even though I will always say that the goal will be for us to never have to exist.

But as long as we have to exist, I want to make sure that we're doing good work.

So we are a first stage emergency shelter for women and children who are fleeing violence.

We have 19 beds for women and their children.

And with us being first stage, we're typically the first place that women come.

What I like about it is that, you know, sometimes in these systems we have to have referrals and we need to speak to professionals in order to get access to services.

But women can call on their own.

It's not like they need a social worker or anyone to call for them.

What we do is we have our frontline staff who will do an initial phone assessment if we have space to ensure that they meet the mandate.

And as long as we have space, we take the woman in.

So we offer shelter, we provide all of their basic needs and necessities while they are here.

We have our frontline staff who help them navigate their way through the systems that be so that they can find themselves to safe.

secure independent living outside of Nelson House because we're a first stage shelter typically the stay is supposed to be around three months so it's a very short period of time to get all of the things in order but sometimes what happens because housing and lack thereof is a real issue in the city that women are here longer, especially if they have two or more children because larger families take longer time to get housed.

But we have, In addition to our frontline staff, we have a case manager who supports the navigation of all of the things that be.

We also have a children's program coordinator who helps be that advocate for the women as they navigate all things family related.

So they are kind of the liaison in between everything.

Us at Nelson House, the women and the supports that they need in the community.

We have just recently started a partnership with Andrew Fleck Children's Services to have licensed child care on site specifically for the children of Nelson House, which is incredible.

And then we also have a transitional support worker.

So she is the one who works with the women as they transition out of Nelson House and for up to a year and sometimes beyond when they leave Nelson House just to kind of be that support person, the person that can help them stay healthy.