Nellie’s

Maintaining Low-Barrier Admissions

Nellie’s maintains low-barrier access to shelter by:

• Not requiring sobriety as a condition of entry or return;
• Allowing participants to keep their harm reduction supplies, hormones, or medications;
• Focusing on reducing harm rather than requiring abstinence; and
• Avoiding service restrictions or discharge based solely on drug use, sex work, or behaviours associated with “self-harm.”

Creating Flexible & Participant-Centred Expectations

Nellie’s harm reduction approach is grounded in participant choice and individualized support. Practices include:

• Recognizing participants as experts in their own lives;
• Offering programs focused on confidence-building, self-advocacy, and healthy relationships;
• Working collaboratively with participants to develop individualized safety and support plans;
• Supporting women engaged in sex work through flexible curfew practices and individualized safety planning;
• Encouraging communal living, shared responsibilities, and opportunities for collective discussion and connection;
• Respecting participants’ privacy and need for personal space; and
• Supporting participants to explore their own goals and priorities.

Fostering Safe & Trusting Environments

Nellie’s incorporates several practices aimed at building trust, community, and safety, including:

• Staff training in Harm Reduction 101, naloxone administration, overdose prevention, and CPR;
• Ongoing harm reduction learning and team discussions;
• Employing staff with lived experience of drug use in paid positions;
• Limiting police involvement in situations involving drug use or possession;
• Avoiding child protection involvement based solely on parental drug use;
• Providing debriefing, supervision, and mental health supports for staff; and
• Creating opportunities for connection through peer support groups, house meetings, and communal activities.

Embedding Harm Reduction & Health Supports

Nellie’s integrates harm reduction and health supports into shelter operations through:

• Access to naloxone, safer sex supplies, safer drug use equipment, and sharps disposal containers throughout the shelter and through staff upon request;
• Referrals to supervised consumption and overdose prevention services;
• Referrals to opioid agonist therapy programs, including methadone and Suboxone supports;
• Partnerships with organizations providing HIV, HCV, and STBBI testing, education, counselling, and vaccinations;
• Transportation support for participants attending harm reduction-related appointments or services; and
• Community-based drug use and addiction peer support programming.

Recognizing Women’s Intersecting Identities

Nellie’s operates from a feminist, anti-racist, and anti-oppression framework that recognizes the overlapping impacts of violence, poverty, homelessness, drug use, disability, and criminalization. Practices include:

• Creating accessible physical spaces and barrier-free shelter rooms;
• Allowing women to stay with pets so they do not have to choose between safety and companionship;
• Offering empowerment-focused programming related to parenting, health, employment, relationships, arts, and anti-oppressive practice;
• Offering programs for children and youth focused on communication, boundaries, and healthy relationships; and
• Providing dedicated spaces for reflection, spiritual practices, children, youth, and pets.