Transitional housing for women needed in Sudbury, study says

Transitional housing for women needed Sudbury Women’s Centre & Cambrian College share findings on the need for transitional housing for those fleeing domestic violence.

A new study from Cambrian College shows that women fleeing domestic violence not only need access to emergency shelters; they need access to longer-term and safe transitional housing.

The research study was conducted as part of a partnership between the Sudbury Women’s Centre (SWC) and the college’s R&D department under the direction of Cody Cacciotti from November 2022 until June 2023.

The group looked at various models of transitional housing, governance and support services along with the funding options available.

"What type of transitional housing are we looking for, what style,” said Giulia Carpenter, SWC’s executive director speaking with CTV News.

“What did other communities from across Canada what did they do? What programs did they offer within their transitional housing? So – it's kind of taking a little bit of models from other organizations and making it into our own."

In addition to the transitional housing itself, key recommendations from the study include:

“These recommendations underscore the acute need for transitional housing in the Sudbury community,” said Carpenter, in a news release Monday.

“(The) evidence … underlines the necessity of transitional housing.”

The project also involved faculty members as well as student researchers from Cambrian College’s Community and Health Services Navigation Program.

“We were quite enthusiastic to take part in this project because this is an important social issue and we want to be part of the solution,” said Cacciotti, in the release.

“Most of our applied research projects deal with heavy industry and business, but we can also play a role in improving social services using the expertise that exists in the college.”

SWC said will now present the results to officials with the Greater City of Sudbury along with community partners, builders and funders to determine the best model for the community.

“We're also focused on developing inclusive best practices to support the LGBTQ+ community," said Carpenter.

The project was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Sudbury MP Viviane Lapointe said how important addressing real-life systemic issues is to the area.

“The need for access to longer-term and safe transitional housing for women is critical,” she said.

“The … research partnership has created the backbone needed to make these changes.”

“We really do hope this project will lead to tangible results to help women fleeing domestic violence,” said Cacciotti.

For further information about the research or the services offered by Sudbury Women's Centre, visit their website.

- With files from CTV News Northern Ontario video journalist Ashley Bacon