Marking 25 years of making home a safe place for everyone

Royal LePage professionals understand that a house is only a home if the people who live there feel safe. That’s why, 25 years ago, we unanimously agreed that helping women and children find safety from domestic abuse should be where we channeled our big hearts and charitable efforts. Since its founding on August 26, 1998, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation has proudly grown to become the largest public foundation in Canada dedicated exclusively to funding women’s shelters and domestic violence prevention.

Raising an astounding $40 million to-date for a cause we hold so dear, Royal LePagers have joined the ranks of local and national champions who are rebuilding the lives of families affected by abuse. Investing in critical prevention programs aimed at stopping this senseless violence before it starts has also become an increasingly important priority. 

In order to fund this life-saving and life-changing work, many Royal LePagers have made generous donations from our commissions each time we’ve helped a client buy or sell. We have also hosted and attended local fundraising events of all shapes and sizes, hiked hundreds of kilometers as part of the ‘Challenge for Shelter’ series, purchased thousands of ‘Shelter Blooms’ tulip bulbs, and donated and bid on countless Shelter Auction items – including our very famous Faux Fur Coat!   

As our fundraising revenues and personal donations have grown over the past two and half decades, so too has our collective understanding of the complexities of domestic violence. Following closely the work of experts, educators, and front-line shelter workers, we now know that:  

• Intimate partner violence doesn’t always show up as bruises or physical injuries. Psychological, emotional and financial abuse can be just as harmful. 
• While violence and abuse can happen to any woman or girl regardless of their background, identity or circumstance, some are at much greater risk and have less access to helpful services, including Indigenous women, Black and racialized women, 2SLGBTQIA people, young women, women with disabilities, and women living in rural or remote communities.
• There are complex reasons why people stay in abusive relationships, as well as significant barriers and risks of seeking help.
• Children cannot be shielded from violence in their homes – even that which takes place behind closed doors – and the impacts to their mental and physical health and development can be devastating.  
• A safe and secure bed in a shelter is only the first of many important steps for a woman fleeing abuse. Job training, financial literacy, affordable transitional housing, access to legal services, and therapy are all essential, longer-term supports that help women thrive after experiencing domestic violence. 

In the face of rising rates of violence over the COVID pandemic and the increasing incidence of women killed each year by current or former partners, Royal LePage Shelter Foundation supporters look ahead with determination. We know that, together, we have made a difference in the lives of so many women and children. We know that with continued investment in today’s youth, the tide can be turned for many of their future dating and intimate relationships. We can envision a world where our Shelter Foundation is no longer needed because women and children are safe in their homes. And so, as we mark 25 years of progress, we look with purpose at the work that remains.

To join Royal LePage professionals in helping make home a safe place for everyone, please visit rlp.ca/donate.