Royal LePage® Night Light Walk Highlights Critical Need for Transitional Housing Amidst National Housing Crisis

Last month, thousands of people across twelve Canadian cities walked to raise awareness and crucial funds for local women’s second-stage housing/transitional shelters and housing support programs. The third annual Royal LePage® Shelter Foundation™ Night Light Walk™, presented by TD, addresses the urgent need for safe, affordable housing for individuals and families escaping domestic violence.

According to Women’s Shelters Canada, 99.5% of shelter staff and survivors report their community is facing a housing crisis. Intimate partner violence impacts 44% of women and girls in an intimate partner relationship. And, on any given day in Canada, 3,000 women and their 2,500 children are living in an emergency shelter to escape family violence. While these emergency shelters provide immediate safety, they are not meant to meet long-term housing needs.

Second-stage housing — longer-term accommodation for women no longer fleeing immediate abuse but still needing support and safety — is vital. Due to a shortage of this type of housing and underfunding of existing second-stage housing, survivors are left without a clear path to long-term stability.

Funds raised by Night Light Walk participants expand transitional housing initiatives through new builds and renovations, and provide essential resources like trauma counselling, legal assistance and positive parenting programs. In communities without transitional housing, funds support emergency shelter programs, where longer-term and affordable housing is sought.

Last year alone, over $315,000 was raised at the Night Light Walk. This contributes to the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation’s total of over $52 million raised since its inception in 1998, supporting over 200 local women’s transitional shelters and national partners.