Community Partnerships
Safer Pathways: Strengthening Our Community Response to Domestic Violence and Abuse
Safer Pathways is a collaborative partnership between FearIsNotLove, the Calgary Police Service (CPS) and YWCA Calgary, bringing together police and specialized community-based supports to strengthen the response to domestic violence and abuse. Through this partnership, FearIsNotLove and YWCA Calgary staff work alongside the CPS Domestic Conflict Unit at police headquarters, creating a more connected and coordinated approach to supporting individuals and families impacted by domestic violence and abuse.
By bringing police and specialized community supports together, Safer Pathways helps connect individuals and families with the right resources at the right time. The co-location model creates opportunities for earlier intervention, timely follow-up and access to specialized services that recognize the complex needs of those affected.
Domestic violence and abuse have a devastating impact on individuals, families and communities. Addressing it requires collaboration between police, community organizations and partners across the system. Through Safer Pathways, we can help reduce barriers to support, prevent further harm and support individuals and families as they move toward safety, healing and hope.
FearIsNotLove is proud to work alongside the Calgary Police Service and YWCA Calgary in this important work. Together, we’re helping create a more coordinated, compassionate response to domestic violence and abuse, and building safer communities.
Learn more about Safer Pathways:
Read the Calgary Police Service announcement
Shelterlink App
Shelterlink is a web based app that was developed to help women and children fleeing domestic violence to more easily access available shelter beds. Through the app, participating shelters report in real time on their bed availability. Shelter staff are able to see the bed spaces available in other shelters, so that women who are fleeing domestic violence do not need to make multiple calls when needing to access safe, emergency housing.
Currently, the ShelterLink app hosts thirteen women’s emergency, transitional, and second stage shelters (primarily located in Calgary and the surrounding area). This project is also aiming to better understand the nature of demand for domestic violence services, particularly shelter beds, in the community.
Further development will include platform enhancements to track usage trends and expanding access to emergency and non-emergency service providers. The ShelterLink project is also focusing on the development of a rapid access, collaborative, multi-disciplinary system-of-care approach to families fleeing domestic violence so their needs are better met and they experience more seamless service delivery. The overall aim of the project is to ensure that someone whose risk requires shelter is offered shelter, and those whose risk can be managed in the community are offered alternate and accessible community-based services.
Men &
It’s not easy asking for help. But finding it should be.
Men & is a partnership between Forge Social Health and FearIsNotLove that connects men with free tools, resources, and support for mental and social health. Whether you’re navigating difficult emotions, strengthening relationships, or facing life’s challenges, Men & helps you connect with organizations, resources, and people who will meet you where you’re at with compassion and dignity.
When you’re ready, support is available.
The Men’s Resource Line offers free, confidential, and non-judgemental support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Skilled and trained counsellors work alongside you to explore concerns, discuss options, and connect you with services and resources that fit your unique needs. Dignity and respect are at the heart of every conversation.
Call: 1-833-327-MENS (6367) anytime to talk with a counsellor and learn about supports available to you.
Shelter 2.0 Discussion Paper
Women’s Shelters: Enhancing Impact to End Violence
Note: This publication was created under our original name, The Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter. The Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter continues to be a core and essential service we provide in Calgary and area.
In 2016, Shift partnered with the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter, YWCA, Calgary and Turner Strategies to strategize on how to enhance the impact of women’s shelters to help end violence.
Together with our partners, we developed Shelter 2.0: Discussion Paper by undertaking a review of best and promising practices encompassing shelter services for women fleeing violence in Canada and internationally. It helped us collectively understand the opportunities for shelters within the broader violence prevention movement.
In addition, we consulted with experts in the field. Both organizations went through an extensive assessment and consultation process, and the core themes of the research were presented at Canada’s First National Shelter Conference for Women Fleeing Violence in Ottawa (June 2018) where evaluations were completed by close to 100 practitioners from across Canada.
The Shelter 2.0 discussion paper proposes a new paradigm for women’s shelter operations, focusing on shelter objectives, service models, policies and practices. The focus on practices and services at the shelter level proposes evolving the traditional crisis response by adding deliberate interventions that include supporting the broader goal of preventing and ending violence. Shelter 2.0 proposes a holistic definition of violence and the intentional development of a system planning approach to prevent and end violence.
The discussion paper aims to stimulate direction-setting conversations through which we can begin to develop a possible prototype for the re-visioned model that could be tested and refined. Further consideration and analysis is necessary to debate and refine the concepts presented. We recognize the experience and approach presented draws heavily on two women’s sheltering organizations in Calgary.
This infers limitations on scaling which puts parameters on the ideas presented. These ideas should be examined within local contexts and probed further through thoughtful implementation, continuous improvement and evaluation.
The authors believe status quo is not an option and encourage advocates, policymakers and practitioners to challenge, build and further refine Shelter 2.0.
Shelter 2.0 Discussion Paper
Background Report for Shelter 2.0 Discussion Paper