A recent flood has caused extensive damage at a women’s shelter in North Etobicoke, creating a crisis for the place that has been a lifeline for survivors of violence.
Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter in Rexdale is one of Toronto’s few emergency shelters for women, children and gender-diverse individuals fleeing violence.
A series of downpours has caused water to seep deep into the building, soaking through the heart of the shelter.
“What we can see is that water is entering through the broken deck and the wood and the bricks are damaged. Water is entering through the top,” shared Emily McClung, the Development and Engagement Manager at Ernestine’s.
The issues began when they had to get one of their rooms sprayed for mould.
“This room has been shut down since early September when we had to get the room sprayed for mould and we noticed when we would have lots of rain, the rain would come through the walls,” added Laverne Blake, the shelter’s interim Executive Director.
After an investigation into the flooding, officials uncovered extensive mould, forcing the closure of key spaces where healing happens, including the child and youth program room, the homework lab, and counselling offices.
“The impact is we can’t provide trauma-informed services to our clients in a way that is the level of standard that they deserve,” said Blake.
“This whole deck and all this brick needs to be replaced to solve the problem … We have to remove the deck, replace all the wood, replace the brick, all the windows need to be replaced,” added McClung.
The shelter said emergency repairs are costing $250,000; money the non-profit does not have.
With no clear source of government funding, they have launched an emergency appeal asking the public to help keep the shelter open.
“We’ve been in conversations with all levels of government to see if we can get some financial support, but we are still in those conversations … Community support is vital, and the need is great. We’re hoping that the community will have our back and support us in fundraising so we can get the repair done as quickly as possible,” said Blake.
Ernestine’s has launched an urgent fundraising campaign to cover repairs and keep its doors open. To donate, you can head to the shelter’s website.
