The National Housing Council’s Neha Review Panel has spent the last year collecting evidence and testimony from across the country, reviewing Canada’s duty to uphold the right to housing for women, Two-Spirit, Trans, and gender-diverse people including testimony from BCSTH and Women’s Shelters Canada. This has culminated in the Panel delivering summary and recommendation reports to Minister Robertson on Monday, November 24. Through the right to housing legislation, the Minister must respond within 120 days, publicly, in the House and...

The BC government has announced additional funding for BCSTH’s Violence is Preventable (VIP) program, which teaches K-12 students about intimate-partner violence and healthy relationships. The funding will come from Safe and Supported: BC’s Gender-Based Violence Action Plan. Read the full press release here. Excerpts from BC Government Press Release “As part of the Canada-British Columbia bilateral agreement to end gender-based violence, B.C. will receive $18 million this year from the federal government to support survivors and break the cycle of...

Emergency preparedness is more complicated for Women’s Transition Houses and Supports Programs (WTHSP) than a regular household or place of work. In addition to evacuation, they also need to worry about their prime mission – providing supports and a refuge from violence.

The preventive and restorative approaches recommended in this Report provide a roadmap to the province on providing meaningful access to justice to survivors of gender-based violence.

Our librarian Tina Chau curated six autobiographies by Indigenous women that you may want to check out. They’re all available upon request from our library, and from most local libraries.

BCSTH is honoured to host a webinar by Moon Time Connections, an organization that works to end period inequity for First Nations, Inuit, and Metis women in northern or remote communities by delivering period products free of charge. Attend to learn how Indigenous cultural practices around menstruation connect to empowerment and decolonization.

Staff from BCSTH learn how to develop their fledgling bursary fund to a sustainable $100,000 every year, with coaching from SVP Vancouver.

BCSTH is excited to launch the “Did Someone Share Your Image Without Consent?” Social Media Campaign for Victims and Survivors of Crime Week 2025. This campaign raises awareness about non-consensual image sharing and reminds survivors that they’re not alone—there are options and support available.  Watch our PSAs here: Video 1 and Video 2, and visit https://compass.bcsth.ca to learn more.

Red Dress Day on May 5 is a time to remember and honour the thousands of Indigenous women and girls who have been murdered or who are missing. This post explains the origins of this important day, and lists Red Dress Day events scheduled in BC in 2025.

A huge thank you to all of the Transition Housing and Supports Programs and PEACE Programs who participated in the 24 Hour Census on November 27-28th, 2024. We are pleased to launch the full reports for Prevention of Violence Against Women Week 2025. Key findings show that in just one day, 85 Transition Housing and Supports Programs and 67 PEACE Programs served 1,592 women, children and youth experiencing violence in their homes. However, a further 346 women, youth and children were...

The 2024 24 Hour Census survey numbers are in! A huge thank you to everyone who participated. Key findings show that in just one day, BCSTH Member Programs served 1,592 women, children and youth experiencing violence in their homes. However, a further 346 women, youth and children were unable to be served by these life-saving services during the same period, and there were 548 children and youth on waitlists for PEACE Program services. These numbers clearly demonstrate the lack of...

Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) announced up to $40 million in funding for 170 women’s and Indigenous women’s organizations. BCSTH is one of the recipients of this funding and in turn developed the Advancing Equality for Indigenous Members (AEIM) project last year. Through this project, BCSTH will enhance its capacity to promote gender equality and integrate Indigenous voices into the Society’s governance and strategic planning. The project will incorporate Indigenous member programs as a means to address how BCSTH...

“It has helped me gain a career that I love and be able to show my daughter that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.”  – Bursary Recipient  The federal government has called violence against women an epidemic in Canada. Women who experience violence often face significant barriers to achieving financial independence and stability. These barriers can include a lack of access to education, employment opportunities, and safe housing. Without the necessary supports, many women in BC find...

We are thrilled to announce that registration for the 2024 BCSTH Annual Training Forum (ATF) is now open! This year’s theme is Strength in Solidarity: Weaving Communities and Generations. We are featuring 31 workshops (including an evening Wellness selection), the therapy dogs are back and we have 3 fabulous keynote presentations featuring Vikki Reynolds, Monique Gray Smith and our MC, Madelaine McCallum. Queer as Funk will once again treat us to a dance party and we can all celebrate strength...

We are pleased to inform you of the successful lobbying efforts led by Police Victim Services of BC (PVSBC) in concert with the BC Society of Transition Houses (BCSTH) and Ending Violence Association of BC (EVA BC) to extend the mental disorder presumption under the Workers Compensation Act to include social workers, victim service workers and specified frontline social and community service occupations, including transition house workers and shelter workers. Sincere thanks to all for this collective effort to ensure cross sectoral frontline...

A huge thank you to all of the Transition Housing and Supports Programs and PEACE Programs who participated in the 24 Hour Census on November 29-30, 2023. We are pleased to launch the full reports for the Prevention of Violence Against Women Week 2024. Key findings show that in just one day, 140 Transition Housing and Supports Programs and 68 PEACE Programs served 2,222 women, children and youth experiencing violence in their homes. However, a further 825 women, youth and children...

BCSTH is thrilled by the announcement today, March 25, 2024, by Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity, Kelli Paddon, Office of the Minister of Finance and by the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General of $1,398,000.00 to enhance funding to the Prevention, Education, Advocacy, Counselling and Empowerment (PEACE) program and Violence is Preventable program (VIP). This is one of the first announcements under Safe and Supported, BC’s Gender Based Violence Action Plan and it is under the Prevention Pillar. BC signed their...

We are thrilled to announce that BCSTH has been awarded the prestigious CMHC Gold Roof Award for Knowledge to Action for the groundbreaking research on the Women-Centred Housing Design Toolkit, lead by Ghazaleh Akbarnejad. At the heart of the project was gathering insights directly from women and housing experts, allowing us to understand and address the unique housing needs of women and their children after violence. The result? A comprehensive toolkit featuring women-centred design principles, evidence-based designs, and housing floorplans....

The 2023 24 Hour Census survey numbers are in! A huge thank you to all of the Transition Housing and Supports Programs and PEACE Programs who participated in the 24-Hour Census on November 29 & 30, 2023. Key findings show that in just one day, 140 Transition Housing and Supports Programs and 68 PEACE Programs served 2,222 women, children and youth experiencing violence in their homes. However, a further 825 women, youth and children were unable to be served by...

BCSTH is pleased to launch the final report from the BCSTH Bursary Fund (BBF) Evaluation Project. This report evaluated the BC Society of Transition Houses (BCSTH) Bursary Fund (BBF), a flexible financial assistance program that provides survivors who have accessed BCSTH member programs with bursaries of up to $3,000 for education and employment opportunities to support themselves to become financially independent. Online surveys, focus groups and interviews were conducted between June – November, 2023 with women who have received a...