After leaving her abusive husband, Alma needed a job where she could make a living wage and still be available to care for her children in the evenings. She joined our Women’s Bakery program, and received the training and experience to secure a full-time job with Fred Victor’s Friends Catering team. Alma says, “The Women’s Bakery program helped me prove to myself and prove to my kids that we can stand on our own two feet and do everything for ourselves. It showed me that we are going to be alright.”

ALMA’S STORY

It wasn’t long after Anthony lost his job that he found himself without a roof over his head. At a Fred Victor-run respite shelter, Anthony met housing worker Jobin Francis. With Jobin’s assistance, he moved into a single, furnished basement room within a few months. Anthony remarked that it felt like a huge weight was off his chest when he signed the year-long lease for his room. With a stable home base, he was able to begin looking for work again.

ANTHONY’S STORY

Vanessa had been providing her share for an apartment without realizing that her roommate wasn’t paying the rent. When they were evicted, she found a safe place to stay at Fred Victor’s Emergency Respite. That’s where she met Nicholas and his dog Fire. In May, Fred Victor housing staff found them an affordable one-bedroom apartment. Vanessa explained, “Without this respite centre, I probably would have ended up living in places that I didn’t want to be in and that would have been much, much worse.”

VANESSA’S STORY

In the wake of Canada’s opioid crisis, Fred Victor opened a Supervised Injection Site (SIS) to support community members and prevent overdoses. This full-service harm reduction site includes sterile injection supplies, education on overdose prevention, intervention health counselling and referrals to services such as drug treatment, housing and income support. An SIS staff member stated, “Whether it’s a shelter bed for the night or other health services, if they come in to the SIS, we’re here to help them.”

RESPONDING TO THE OPIOID CRISIS

After leaving her abusive husband, Alma needed a job where she could make a living wage and still be available to care for her children in the evenings. She joined our Women’s Bakery program, and received the training and experience to secure a full-time job with Fred Victor’s Friends Catering team. Alma says, “The Women’s Bakery program helped me prove to myself and prove to my kids that we can stand on our own two feet and do everything for ourselves. It showed me that we are going to be alright.”

ALMA’S STORY

It wasn’t long after Anthony lost his job that he found himself without a roof over his head. At a Fred Victor-run respite shelter, Anthony met housing worker Jobin Francis. With Jobin’s assistance, he moved into a single, furnished basement room within a few months. Anthony remarked that it felt like a huge weight was off his chest when he signed the year-long lease for his room. With a stable home base, he was able to begin looking for work again.

ANTHONY'S STORY

Vanessa had been providing her share for an apartment without realizing that her roommate wasn’t paying the rent. When they were evicted, she found a safe place to stay at Fred Victor’s Emergency Respite. That’s where she met Nicholas and his dog Fire. In May, Fred Victor housing staff found them an affordable one-bedroom apartment. Vanessa explained, “Without this respite centre, I probably would have ended up living in places that I didn’t want to be in and that would have been much, much worse.”

VANESSA'S STORY

In the wake of Canada’s opioid crisis, Fred Victor opened a Supervised Injection Site (SIS) to support community members and prevent overdoses. This full-service harm reduction site includes sterile injection supplies, education on overdose prevention, intervention health counselling and referrals to services such as drug treatment, housing and income support. An SIS staff member stated, “Whether it’s a shelter bed for the night or other health services, if they come in to the SIS, we’re here to help them.”

RESPONDING TO OPIOID CRISIS