Striving for safe housing for all

Striving for safe housing for all

As a REALTOR®, you dedicate your professional life to helping clients find the perfect home.

Royal LePage Shelter Foundation

But a house is only a home when the people who live there feel safe, loved and accepted. Sadly, there are thousands of women and children who do not have that privilege today. In Canada, approximately 6,300 women and children seek the safety of a shelter on any given night due to domestic violence. A shocking one in four women worldwide will experience domestic violence in their lifetime.

The Royal LePage Shelter Foundation is Canada’s largest public foundation dedicated exclusively to funding women’s shelters and domestic violence prevention programs. Each year, the Shelter Foundation supports 50,000 women and children in 200 women’s shelters across Canada and funds more than 30 violence prevention programs, including healthy relationship programs for teens. Since its inception in 1998, the Foundation has raised $33 million and every dollar is invested in the cause since Royal LePage covers the Foundation's administrative costs.

100% of all funds raised goes to our cause

“Women’s shelters offer more than just a room with four walls and a bed,” says Shanan Spencer-Brown, Executive Director, Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. “It’s about providing women and children with safety, as well as the opportunity to heal, to feel less isolated, and to build a sense of community.”

As a Royal LePage agent, the Shelter Foundation provides you with a unique opportunity to drive real change in your community. Whether donating a portion of your commissions or volunteering your time, every effort counts.

$33 million raised

The programs offered by the shelters help women gain confidence, become economically independent, and feel empowered to support their children and contribute to society. “We’re really changing the fabric of society as a whole in Canada by making it possible for people to find safe places and live free of violence – we all deserve that,” Spencer-Brown says.

But with increasing pressure on Canadian shelters to “do more with less,” it’s becoming more pertinent that organizations such as the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation do their part to strengthen the services available across the country.

Here are some examples of the issues these shelters are currently facing:

A lack of safe, affordable housing.

When there is insufficient housing available in the community, women need to stay in shelters longer. This means beds are not available for others, jeopardizing the lives of those in crisis.

Smart technology is heightening the risk of violence.

Smartphones and transit passes may be convenient for the general population; however, these tools are making it easier for women to be stalked or abused by their partner.

The correlation between domestic violence and head injury.

Royal LePage Shelter Foundation partner, Kelowna Women’s Shelter, is working with the University of British Columbia to study the effects of head injury on domestic violence survivors. The findings will be used to improve training for shelter staff to better recognize the signs and symptoms of head injury and determine appropriate interventions.

Research shows that survivors of domestic violence experience the same level of PTSD as soldiers returning from war zones.

“Women’s shelters have also identified that domestic violence survivors often experience complex mental health concerns and substance abuse,” explains Spencer-Brown.“Meaning some survivors may have significant needs and require ongoing support, well beyond the point at which they leave their abusive partner.”

Aging buildings are in serious need of repair

But women’s shelters don’t have the financial resources to afford sufficient restoration.

Every six days, on average, a woman is killed by her former or current partner.

A woman may stay in an abusive relationship for years, but the moment she leaves is when she is in the gravest danger. “This is why women’s shelters play a critical role and must be supported to do their life-saving work,” says Spencer-Brown.

Being a REALTOR® is not only a job; it’s a calling. Every person deserves a safe space where they feel love, hope and joy. Safe homes produce safe communities, and global change begins in your own backyard.

How we help

Commission Donations

Agents generously donate a portion of their sales commissions to support the cause.

rlpNetwork.com/comissiondonations

National Garage Sale for Shelter

This annual event is the largest, multi-location charity garage sale in Canada and has raised over $3 million since 2009.

rlpNetwork.com/ garagesale

Fundraising Events

Locally-organized charity tournaments, gala dinners, silent auctions, and more. Plus national events like the Challenge for Shelter treks and fundraising activities at Royal LePage conferences.

rlp.ca/shelter-fundraising

Help end domestic violence in Canada

rlpNetwork.com/shelter