Nancy's House is so much more than just shelter
Nancy’s House is hosting ‘A Night of Mystery’ fundraiser to give survivors of sexual exploitation and trafficking the supports they need and deserve.
Fundraising event for Restorations Second Stage Housing will be an entertaining evening with live painting, silent art auction and elegant four-course dinner with a side of whodunit. Ticket sales end Friday, October 6th. Event is Friday, October 20th.
A very special house in Halton welcomed it’s first resident in July 2022. That’s when Restorations Second Stage Homes (RSSH) débuted Nancy’s House a groundbreaking second stage transitional home for survivors of sexual exploitation and trafficking.
Named for the charity’s founding chair, Nancy Wing, this home offers hope and the safety that is so important to a survivor’s healing.
“What we provide is a bridge between more emergency, or first stage or crisis, housing and living independently,” Jennifer Lucking, Executive Director of RSSH told Small Change during an interview.
Second stage housing is often overlooked, underfunded, and in very short supply. In fact, Nancy’s House is the first of its kind in the Hamilton/Halton region – the area served by RSSH.
Residents are referred from other service providers in the area who made their initial contact through a variety of first stage housing and recovery programs.
Those programs include Safe Hope Home in Durham Region, Halton Women’s Place, Elizabeth Fry Peel/Halton, and Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Services (SAVIS) of Halton.
“We are second stage housing, so there needs to be a stabilization period and commitment to long-term recovery when residents come to us,” Lucking explained.
Residents stay for two years. During that time, they are able to participate in programing and search for permanent housing while exercising their personal agency.
RSSH offers a survivor-led peer support group that assists survivors already living independently within the community. It was through this group that RSSH staff discovered that some individuals transitioning from very structured housing environments with round the clock supports had more difficulty transitioning to independent living.
Instead, RSSH promotes financial and social independence. That might look like residents taking responsibility for some of their social outings and making an effort to be out in the community.
Residents are usually on Ontario Works (O/W) or Ontario Disabilities Support Program (ODSP) which provides monthly incomes of $733 and $1,308 respectively for a single adult with no dependents. Those meager amounts of money have to cover rent as well as all living expenses including food and transportation.
Currently, ODSP recipients are able to earn $200 per month before the provincial government claws back 50 cents from each additional dollar earned. Total monthly earnings will increase to $1,000 a month on February 1, 2023.
However, as Lucking asks, “What is the appropriate amount to work that is taking into consideration the resident’s trauma, disabilities and situation?”
Residents do receive additional funds from the provincial government to cover fees associated with the survivor-led programing at Nancy’s House. RSSH provides a small budget to help fund individual needs that a resident may have like skill and community building activities as well as providing a small amount of money for weekly groceries.
Donated hygiene and menstruation products help residents stretch their monthly income farther, but clothing donations are more difficult to deal with. That’s because sizing is often an issue and a lack of storage space necessitates passing those donations on to partner organizations.
Currently, two residents are sharing the newly renovated home with a third resident scheduled to move in later this month. That means RSSH hasn’t had a resident transition into permanent housing yet. Unfortunately, the economic reality of the current housing market means the prospects for affordable permanent housing are dismal.
One of the first things Lucking and her team do after welcoming a new resident is to begin thinking about permanent housing. If the person is not already on a subsidized housing list, then they need to get on one as soon as possible. With only 4,000 subsidized units across Halton applicants are on wait lists for seven to ten years.
Nancy’s House was almost a decade in the making starting with RSSH staff looking into various models and then conducting several survivor informed consultations. Lucking ensured survivors were financially compensated for their emotional and physical labour. That groundwork led to the smaller, more individualized design chosen for Nancy’s House.
Lucking who is also co-chair of the Hamilton Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition, told Small Change, “We are cognisant of our capacities and can only provide so much, so we do have relationships in the community to be able to cross-reference. Sitting on the Hamilton Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition is really important to us so we can tap into those resources and knowledge share about what we are seeing on the ground.”
Originally, Lucking wanted Nancy’s House to be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but that wasn’t realistic on many levels including staffing costs. Instead, the model shifted to staff being available during the weekday hours which encouraged residents to become more independent.
Lucking always strives to have survivors in positions of leadership. SRRH has survivors on staff who are responsible for developing and leading the programming. They also have a survivor of sexual exploitation on their Board of Directors, although that is a volunteer position.
As executive director, Lucking oversees policy development and makes sure to get feedback from staff before implementation.
Nancy’s House was truly a community project, one that local renovator, Shane Van Barneveld, took to heart. Van Barneveld, owner of Team Shane, engaged upwards of 25 different businesses who donated their time, materials and labour to bring this dream to fruition. This engagement also cemented lasting connections between SRRH and the broader community.
Yet, there’s always a need for funding whether it’s to pay peer-support staff, cover counselling and trauma-informed care, or just pay for the propane that heats the house.
Lucking would like Small Change readers to know, “We get a lot of referrals and constantly have a wait list because housing is just very dire right now. We feel very fortunate to be in a position where we can at least provide housing to three people. We know it’s a drop in the bucket, but that’s why we collaborate because we’re all trying to access resources and navigate what’s available to be able to provide people with the support that they need and deserve.”
That’s why Nancy’s House is hosting ‘A Night of Mystery’ on Friday, October 20th at Carmen’s Banquet Hall in Hamilton. Guests will enjoy hors d’oeuvres and an elegant four-course dinner while Murders Tastefully Executed engages and entertains them.
All proceeds from the event will help fund residential programming at Nancy’s House and the Survivor-Led Peer Support program.
Tickets for ‘A Night of Mystery’ are available for purchase until Friday, October 6th.