Every woman that comes through our doors has her own unique story of courage and strength. Here are just a few of their stories we'd like to share, in their own words:

WHO WE SERVE

I KNOW NOW THAT I HAVE A VOICE - Anonymous
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As I was asleep one morning early 2000, my husband attacked me with a piece of lumber. Looking back, I realize he was abusive throughout our relationship; with his anger and words. This is when I left and I found a roommate. Another unhealthy situation, as she would have guests who were substance abusers. Luckily for me, I had never been a substance user and was never tempted to go down that path. I was now trying to heal from my wounds, the trauma of going to court, and the separation from my husband. In all honesty, it was too much for me to bear. I started to feel ill and was admitted to hospital. I had a complete breakdown.

Leaving the hospital, I sat in a coffee shop for the whole day. With my daughter out of town I had no one to turn to and no where to go. I kept thinking ‘What am I going to do?’. I called an old friend of my daughter’s for help. We called the police and an officer brought me to Street Haven Emergency Shelter. This is when my life started to change for the better.

I am very grateful for everything Street Haven does for me. I never knew there was so much help available to women. Street Haven is really working for me, and continues to after three years. I now live in Street Haven Supportive Housing, don’t have to worry about spousal abuse, my health is slowly getting better, both mentally and physically, and I’m in a job training program and earn an income.

One day Madeline (Street Haven staff member) asked me if I wanted to sing in the Choir. I have been around music all my life, but never knew that I would be part of a choir. I always knew how to sing, but now I receive professional training on a weekly basis from Geoff Butler, our Choir Director. The Choir changed my life in a big way. Because of the abuse I went through with my husband, I was never around people – I was afraid to be. I always felt nervous. The Choir has helped and continues to help me feel more confident. It makes me feel comfortable in a room full of people. Knowing that I have this voice, one of many in our Choir, is very empowering. We share our music with each other and with others when we perform.

Special thanks to Madeline, Geoff and the whole staff of Street Haven for saving, changing and enriching my life. There is help in life for women. I only hope those who need it will seek it.

​ON MY WAY – Anonymous

Before I came to Grant House my life was falling apart. My daughters were placed in foster care by their father. My mother was threatening to take my son. My family was disowning me and I felt like dying.

I had gone to visit my daughters. My CAS (Children’s Aid Services) worker told me, “You have to go to long-term residential treatment before we will reunite you and your daughters. If not, they will be placed up for adoption and you will never see them again.” My son, who will be sixteen in a month, told me if his sisters were placed up for adoption, he would leave home and never speak to me again.

I knew of Grant House and called for an interview. Luckily for me, I arrived on October 25, 2001. I was afraid and emotionally bankrupt. Now I feel alive again. I love myself. I love this world. On the morning I left, my son said, “Mom you can do this.” I have had visits with my daughters while here. My oldest daughter, who is three said to me, “Mommy is our other house broken?” I told her “no this is where mommy lives and it’s helping me to get better.”

I am feeling really good about myself. I have some pride, I’m going back to school April 23, 2001. The staff here has shown me how to care about myself again. They have given me a chance to live again and have given my children a chance to have a great mom. My daughters will be coming home permanently. My son has respect for me and is proud of me. My family is speaking to me and is supportive. I’m going to school. My children will be home with me. I have dreams of going to college one day and becoming part of society.

I am grateful there is a place like Street Haven’s Grant House for me to heal and get my life back. I’m not lost anymore.

​​FROM HAVING NO HOPE TO BECOMING A STREET HAVEN SUCCESS STORY– Laura

I was 17 years old when I moved into Street Haven’s newest Supportive Housing apartment building in April 1990. By that point, I had been on my own for over a year, having left an abusive home. I’d dropped out of school and was working full time as a cashier.

The apartment building, a partnership between St. Michael and All Angels Anglican Church and Street Haven, was about to open and there was one vacancy left. While the majority of women who lived there would come through one of the Haven’s programs, there was also room for women from the St. Michael’s community. The late Reverend Canon John Erb, then-rector at St. Michael’s, introduced me to Peggy Ann Walpole. Peggy Ann was reluctant to meet me at first because I was younger than the average age of the Haven’s clients. John was able to convince her that I needed help and would be the perfect candidate for this kind of supportive and safe housing. She agreed and became one of my biggest champions.

During the 8 years that I lived in the safety of that supportive housing, I became, for the first time in my life, a part of a community of women. We supported each other and learned to live together. I learned invaluable lessons about life, addiction, recovery and what it means to build a family with people who truly care about you. Because Peggy Ann gave me a safe place to live, I was able to complete my high school education and go on to earn two university degrees. It was a very difficult time, but I always knew that Peggy Ann was available to listen. We would meet in her huge attic office and talk about what I was doing at school and what I was planning to do next. She always encouraged me to work hard and to lead by example. She was one of the first people to unconditionally believe in me.

After I graduated, I got a job that meant leaving Toronto, and the security of everything I’d come to know. It meant leaving my first true home. During one of our final meetings, I thanked Peggy Ann for believing in me and for taking a chance on someone she initially thought was “too young”. I thanked her for being such a strong influence and tremendous guiding hand when I sorely needed it. She told me that she was proud of me for being such a strong person who worked so hard to overcome so much. Peggy Ann said she was delighted to call me a “Street Haven success story”. It was, and still is, the highest praise.