The Social Impact Leader Redefining Safe Transitions for Survivors of Domestic Abuse

In moments of profound transition, safety is not a luxury; it is a necessity. This winter, Shelter Movers reached a deeply significant milestone: 10,000 survivor relocations across Canada in less than ten years. In a single, coordinated weekend effort, nearly 100 volunteers across British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia supported 45 survivors, many with children, as they moved into safe, secure homes.

These numbers represent far more than logistics. They reflect thousands of decisions made in silence, moments of courage taken under extraordinary risk, and communities stepping in where systems often fall short. Shelter Movers exists to address one of the most dangerous gaps in the survivor journey, the act of leaving.

Filling a Critical Gap in Survivor Support

For individuals fleeing intimate partners or family abuse, leaving is often the most perilous moment. Survivors may be forced to choose between safety and their possessions, their children’s belongings, their pets, or cherished items that anchor identity and stability. Shelter Movers eliminates that impossible choice by providing free, confidential moving and storage services, ensuring survivors can leave with dignity intact.

Demand for these services has nearly tripled in recent years. Moves are becoming longer, more complex, and increasingly require security planning and police coordination. Shelter Movers’ Greater Toronto Chapter alone now facilitates an average of 45 moves per month, with rising requests from seniors separating households that may have been intertwined for decades. Abuse does not discriminate by age, income, or profession, and neither does the need for support.

More Demand, Longer Moves, & Higher Risk

Ashley, Operations Manager of Shelter Movers’ Greater Toronto Chapter, has seen demand for services almost triple in the past nine years. “In our first year, we averaged twelve moves a month,” Ashley says, “not only are we doing nearly three times the moves now, but we are seeing an increase in moves requiring security and police escorts, in addition to moving distances getting longer.”

As awareness about Shelter Movers’ services has spread in Southwestern Ontario, the Chapter has also found that it receives many requests for moves from a very specific demographic: Seniors. “Intimate partner violence affects folks from all walks of life,” says Ashley, “so it’s not that other Chapters don’t plan moves for seniors, it’s just that we’re seeing many more of them these days. Those moves require a particular level of care and attention, not to mention longer move times, as some of these survivors are separating households that have been enmeshed for decades.” 

“Supporting survivors as they rebuild their lives isn’t just an honour, it is a profound responsibility,” says Courtney, the Director for Shelter Movers’ Greater Toronto Chapter. “Walking with them, even on this small part of their journey, is something I will never take lightly.”

Stats About Domestic Abuse in Canada

• Every 2 days, a woman or girl is killed in Canada, most often at the hands of an intimate partner or family member.
• 1 in 3 Canadians report experiencing abuse before the age of 15.
• The home is the most likely place for women in Canada to experience violence.
• 83% of people who experience violence are women.
• Children who witness violence in the home have at least twice the rate of psychiatric disorders as children from non-violent homes.
• For Indigenous women and girls, intimate-partner violence is 6 times more likely to have fatal outcomes.
• A 2023 Statistics Canada report shows that family violence against children, youth, and seniors has reached the highest recorded level since tracking began in 2009.