Residential Home
L’Accueil Sainte-Famille offers a housing service for women or women with children who are victims of relational violence. Accommodations are free, comfortable, and safe. The residential home is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round. A support worker is available to help you. The worker’s role is to:
Welcome, listen to, reassure, and respect women’s decisions, and help them develop their autonomy, their self-esteem, and a better quality of life for the mother and the children.
Eligibility criteria
- Women who are victims of sexual, and/or psychological, and/or physical, and/or financial violence, themselves or with their children.
- Women must be 16 years or older and be self-sufficient. If they are younger than 16 years old, they will be referred to Child Protection.
- Women with mental health issues will be admitted only if their condition allows them to be functional within the home.
- Aggressive and violent women will not be eligible.
- Women under the influence of drugs or alcohol will not be eligible.
- We accept boys who are still in high school (i.e. up to 18+ years old) accompanied by their mother. Children (of adult age) who have a disability, and are therefore dependent on their mother for care, can come to the guest house as long as the mother is the guardian.
- Women must agree to follow the guest house rules or they will be required to leave.
Privacy
The staff of L’Accueil will not name or talk about people who are or have been at the housing facility. We ask the same of people who come on site. We expect the same confidentiality from you.
Security
Physical: The house is equipped with security doors and TV/Video/Microphone that allow the staff to screen visitors and communicate with them before granting entry.
Liability
Children: You remain the primary caregivers for your children.
If you go on an outing, you must bring them with you. L’Accueil does not offer babysitting services, and other residents are not advised to accept this service. Special arrangements can be discussed for unique and important situations.
Visits and outings
No visitors are allowed in the section reserved for you, except for certain social workers and nurses. If a worker needs to come in, we will let you know.
You can meet your visitors outside if your safety is not at risk. Depending on the situation, your spouse may not be allowed on our grounds. We may call the police to ask them to leave. You can exit the guest house if your safety is not at risk.
