Inuit VAW Shelter
The Need
Did you know that the Inuit population is the fastest-growing Indigenous group in Ottawa? Ottawa is establishing the first Violence Against Women shelter for Inuit women and their children – south of Inuit Nunangat.
What We Did
The Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition, in collaboration with Inuuqatigiit Centre for Inuit Children, Youth and Families, Inuit Non-Profit Housing, and Minwaashin Lodge, has secured funding from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Indigenous Services Canada to establish a 30-bed shelter for Inuit women in Ottawa. This initiative will also receive operational support for 20 years, with the City of Ottawa contributing the land for this vital project.
The Centre will provide culturally appropriate and trauma informed services and supports for Inuit women and their children as they restore their strength and heal.
Building Design
About the Inuit VAW Shelter
Purpose
The shelter will offer culturally relevant and trauma-informed services to help Inuit women and their children regain their strength and heal.
Community Member Workshops
We have completed three community workshops over the last year where Inuit women have provided advice on creating the Inuit VAW shelter in Ottawa. They have:
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Met with the architects to discuss details on the initial drawings of the building
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Imagine living in the space - choosing colours and finishes
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Identifying the priority programs for the shelter
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Help move the project forward
We have created an advisory group of Inuit women to continue to guide the project forward as we get ready to break ground in December 2025.
Workshop Visual Mapping
We had visual storytelling at each of the workshops:
What's Next
We raised $XX more in July 2025 for XX.
We plan to break ground on XX.
We plan to complete the building by XX.
We plan to have the building and programs operational by XX.
