The Getting Home Project: Overcoming Barriers to Housing after Violence focuses on reducing barriers to safe, secure and affordable housing for women experiencing violence in BC. Since 2018, this project has been working towards community-based solutions and policy recommendations that alleviate barriers to women accessing appropriate housing after transition house, safe home or second stage housing.

In 2019, the Getting Home Project published a province-wide community needs assessment report on housing, which can be downloaded from the link below. Informed by these findings, the project established several community-level projects and a province-wide advisory committee. These initiatives include:

• The development of a sustainable partnership between second stage houses in Vancouver and the Co-operative Housing Federation of BC to provide long-term and affordable housing units to women. The YWCA-Metro Vancouver leads this initiative.
• The project worked with Comox Valley Transition Society to explore the feasibility of private funding for flexible supplements to the Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP).
• With partners throughout the Lower Mainland, the project is researching the unintended consequences of the National Occupancy Standards as a barrier to housing for single mothers and intergenerational families.
• Through the Getting Home Project, BCSTH established a Rural Housing Advisory Committee (RHAC) to highlight the key housing barriers, research best practices and brainstorm solutions for safe homes and transition house programs in rural, remote and isolated communities.

The Getting Home Project was made possible through funding from Women and Gender Equality Canada. This project is in partnership with the BC Non-Profit Housing Association, The Co-operative Housing Federation of BC, BC Housing and Vancity Community Foundation.

The Getting Home Project is working to build meaningful partnerships across our sector with housing providers. We’ve put together some tips for housing providers. Check out our new page with info about this here.