Government of Canada and Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region Announce Additional Funding for New Shelter in Kitchener

KITCHENER, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Jan. 18, 2011) - The Government of Canada, through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region today announced additional funding for Anselma House, a 45-bed shelter for women and their children who are victims of family violence in the Region of Waterloo.

Stephen Woodworth, Member of Parliament for Kitchener Centre, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC); and Mary Zilney, Executive Director, Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region (WCSWR), along with invited guests, made the announcement.

"Our government recognizes the urgent need to provide women and their children a safe place during crisis situations," said MP Woodworth. "By providing this funding to Anselma House, we are also following through on our commitment to provide safe and affordable housing for all Canadians".

The Government of Canada, through CMHC, provided an additional $1.7 million to Anselma House through the Shelter Enhancement Program (SEP). This funding builds on the $510,000 in federal funding previously announced in June 2010.

SEP assists in repairing, rehabilitating and improving existing shelters for women and their children, youth or men who are victims of family violence. It also provides financial assistance for acquisition or construction of new shelters and second-stage housing where needed.

The new Anselma House is being built on a 1.7 acre property at 700 Heritage Drive in Kitchener and will provide a safe place for 45 women and their children in the community who are victims of family violence.

"Women's Crisis Services is the only agency in the Waterloo Region that provides emergency shelter to abused women and their children. The increasing number of women seeking our assistance, highlights that domestic violence continues to be a serious problem in our community and we are extremely grateful to CMHC, who through their Shelter Enhancement Program, has made this considerable contribution," said Mary Zilney, Executive Director, WCSWR. "CMHC is a wonderful collaborative partner, with whom we are most fortunate to have forged a significant relationship."

The WCSWR is a charitable organization that operates two emergency shelters for abused women and their children: Anselma House in Kitchener and Haven House in Cambridge. It also manages a regional outreach program. WCSWR is the only agency of its kind in the Waterloo region and is much more than an emergency shelter. It offers both individual and group programs to enhance skill development and education around the issues of violence against women so that women and their children may move beyond violence.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has been Canada's national housing agency for more than 60 years. CMHC is committed to helping Canadians access a wide choice of quality, affordable homes, while making vibrant, healthy communities and cities a reality across the country.

In 2008, the Government of Canada committed more than $1.9 billion over five years to improve and build new affordable housing and to help the homeless. As a part of this investment, the renovation programs for low-income households, including the Shelter Enhancement Program, were extended for two years. For Ontario this represents $73 million in federal funding for renovation programs off-reserve.

Canada's Economic Action Plan builds on this with an additional one-time investment of more than $2 billion to build new and renovate existing social housing for low-income Canadians, plus up to $2 billion in low-cost loans to municipalities for housing-related infrastructure.

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