{"id":26155,"date":"2026-06-29T14:31:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T18:31:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/?page_id=26155"},"modified":"2026-06-29T14:44:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T18:44:36","slug":"nellies","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/responsive-shelter\/nellies\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Nellie\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"su-row\"><div class=\"su-column su-column-size-1-2 text-align-left\"><div class=\"su-column-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-26141\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Nellies-Logo-With-Tagline-Colour-1024x340-1-300x100.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"100\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Nellies-Logo-With-Tagline-Colour-1024x340-1-300x100.png 300w, https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Nellies-Logo-With-Tagline-Colour-1024x340-1.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div> <div class=\"su-column su-column-size-1-2 text-align-right\"><div class=\"su-column-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<em>Toronto, Ontario<\/em><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/nellies.org\/what-we-do\/shelter\/\" class=\"su-button su-button-style-default\" style=\"color:#FFFFFF;background-color:#6cadf4;border-color:#578bc4;border-radius:6px\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"color:#FFFFFF;padding:0px 18px;font-size:14px;line-height:28px;border-color:#99c6f8;border-radius:6px;text-shadow:none\"> Visit website<\/span><\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Nellie\u2019s is a shelter and community support organization serving women and their children. Operating from a feminist, anti-racist, anti-oppression harm reduction framework, Nellie\u2019s provides emergency shelter, housing support, outreach, peer support, and empowerment-based programming. The shelter includes 22 bedrooms with private bathrooms, accessible common areas, dedicated spaces for children and youth, a spiritual room, pet-friendly spaces, and communal living areas that support both privacy and connection.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-row\"><div class=\"su-column su-column-size-1-3\"><div class=\"su-column-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<h3 class=\"p1\">Maintaining Low-Barrier Admissions<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div> <div class=\"su-column su-column-size-2-3\"><div class=\"su-column-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<p>Nellie\u2019s maintains low-barrier access to shelter by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Not requiring sobriety as a condition of entry or return;<\/li>\n<li>Allowing participants to keep their harm reduction supplies, hormones, or medications;<\/li>\n<li>Focusing on reducing harm rather than requiring abstinence; and<\/li>\n<li>Avoiding service restrictions or discharge based solely on drug use, sex work, or behaviours associated with \u201cself-harm.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-divider su-divider-style-default\" style=\"margin:30px 0;border-width:1px;border-color:#ccc\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-row\"><div class=\"su-column su-column-size-1-3\"><div class=\"su-column-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<h3 class=\"p1\">Creating Flexible &amp; Participant-Centred Expectations<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div> <div class=\"su-column su-column-size-2-3\"><div class=\"su-column-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<p>Nellie\u2019s harm reduction approach is grounded in participant choice and individualized support. Practices include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Recognizing participants as experts in their own lives;<\/li>\n<li>Offering programs focused on confidence-building, self-advocacy, and healthy relationships;<\/li>\n<li>Working collaboratively with participants to develop individualized safety and support plans;<\/li>\n<li>Supporting women engaged in sex work through flexible curfew practices and individualized safety planning;<\/li>\n<li>Encouraging communal living, shared responsibilities, and opportunities for collective discussion and connection;<\/li>\n<li>Respecting participants\u2019 privacy and need for personal space; and<\/li>\n<li>Supporting participants to explore their own goals and priorities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-divider su-divider-style-default\" style=\"margin:30px 0;border-width:1px;border-color:#ccc\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-row\"><div class=\"su-column su-column-size-1-3\"><div class=\"su-column-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<h3 class=\"p1\">Fostering Safe &amp; Trusting Environments<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div> <div class=\"su-column su-column-size-2-3\"><div class=\"su-column-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<p>Nellie\u2019s incorporates several practices aimed at building trust, community, and safety, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Staff training in Harm Reduction 101, naloxone administration, overdose prevention, and CPR;<\/li>\n<li>Ongoing harm reduction learning and team discussions;<\/li>\n<li>Employing staff with lived experience of drug use in paid positions;<\/li>\n<li>Limiting police involvement in situations involving drug use or possession;<\/li>\n<li>Avoiding child protection involvement based solely on parental drug use;<\/li>\n<li>Providing debriefing, supervision, and mental health supports for staff; and<\/li>\n<li>Creating opportunities for connection through peer support groups, house meetings, and communal activities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-divider su-divider-style-default\" style=\"margin:30px 0;border-width:1px;border-color:#ccc\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-row\"><div class=\"su-column su-column-size-1-3\"><div class=\"su-column-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<h3 class=\"p1\">Embedding Harm Reduction &amp; Health Supports<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div> <div class=\"su-column su-column-size-2-3\"><div class=\"su-column-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<p>Nellie\u2019s integrates harm reduction and health supports into shelter operations through:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Access to naloxone, safer sex supplies, safer drug use equipment, and sharps disposal containers throughout the shelter and through staff upon request;<\/li>\n<li>Referrals to supervised consumption and overdose prevention services;<\/li>\n<li>Referrals to opioid agonist therapy programs, including methadone and Suboxone supports;<\/li>\n<li>Partnerships with organizations providing HIV, HCV, and STBBI testing, education, counselling, and vaccinations;<\/li>\n<li>Transportation support for participants attending harm reduction-related appointments or services; and<\/li>\n<li>Community-based drug use and addiction peer support programming.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-divider su-divider-style-default\" style=\"margin:30px 0;border-width:1px;border-color:#ccc\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-row\"><div class=\"su-column su-column-size-1-3\"><div class=\"su-column-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<h3 class=\"p1\">Recognizing Women&#8217;s Intersecting Identities<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div> <div class=\"su-column su-column-size-2-3\"><div class=\"su-column-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<p>Nellie\u2019s 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:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Creating accessible physical spaces and barrier-free shelter rooms;<\/li>\n<li>Allowing women to stay with pets so they do not have to choose between safety and companionship;<\/li>\n<li>Offering empowerment-focused programming related to parenting, health, employment, relationships, arts, and anti-oppressive practice;<\/li>\n<li>Offering programs for children and youth focused on communication, boundaries, and healthy relationships; and<\/li>\n<li>Providing dedicated spaces for reflection, spiritual practices, children, youth, and pets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: inherit; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol';\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-box su-box-style-default\" id=\"\" style=\"border-color:#779404;border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-box-title\" style=\"background-color:#aac737;color:#FFFFFF;border-top-left-radius:1px;border-top-right-radius:1px\">Program Spotlight: Rock and Water<\/div><div class=\"su-box-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"border-bottom-left-radius:1px;border-bottom-right-radius:1px\">\n<p>In 2022, Nellie\u2019s became the first gender-based violence organization in Canada to implement the \u201cRock and Water\u201d program, an anti-bullying and empowerment program for children at the shelter. Nellie\u2019s adapted the program as part of its broader trauma-informed and violence prevention approach for children and youth exposed to violence. Through physical activities, games, and guided discussions, children learn about:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Setting boundaries;<\/li>\n<li>Communication;<\/li>\n<li>Conflict de-escalation;<\/li>\n<li>Respecting others\u2019 limits;<\/li>\n<li>Confidence-building; and<\/li>\n<li>Healthy relationships.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The program is rooted in play and movement, while also helping children process experiences of violence and develop tools for safety, self-expression, and emotional regulation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nellie\u2019s is a shelter and community support organization serving women and their children. Operating from a feminist, anti-racist, anti-oppression harm reduction framework, Nellie\u2019s provides emergency shelter, housing support, outreach, peer support, and empowerment-based programming. The shelter includes 22 bedrooms with private bathrooms, accessible common areas, dedicated spaces for children and youth, a spiritual room, pet-friendly &#8230; <a title=\"Nellie\u2019s\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/responsive-shelter\/nellies\/?lang=en\" aria-label=\"More on Nellie\u2019s\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":26085,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-26155","page","type-page","status-publish"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/26155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26155"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/26155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26165,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/26155\/revisions\/26165"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/26085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}