Journal by a Transition House Women's Support Worker

Attached to the Transition House is a garage we call the Boutique. Over the years dedicated staff have transformed this garage into a miniature thrift store, full of clothing, bedding and household items. We have such a generous community, we receive more donations than we know what to do with and if it weren't for three amazing volunteers it would be just a jumble. But these three fabulous women keep the space organized and welcoming.

Sometimes the donations go to the Transition House itself. All our bedding, pots and pans, kitchen items and pretty much all of our furniture has been donated over the years. As a result the bedding can be a little oddball but like everything else we make it work. When making up a room for a new resident, it is my little habit to try to make the bedding and linens look like a four star hotel. I hope that when the women to walk into their room for the first time and see it looking clean and bright, it makes the whole experience a little less stressful. So I try to match up the bedding, folding blankets so the small hole or rips don't show, folding the towels the way they do in a spa, leaving a pair of slippers and colour coordinating it all. All I am missing is a mint on the pillow and flowers by the bed. It is a challenge, not much matches and lots of the linens are in rough shape but it is fun and it brightens my day to imagine the women feeling welcomed into the room that first time.

Staff do most of the cleaning at the house. We are working on fitting a cleaner into the very tight budget but it might be months or years till it can happen. We ask that women clean and encourage them to do so, most of the women are great about it, but keeping a large house with up to twelve people in it is a big job. Again it is an example of how just that little extra money can soften the corners and free up needed staff time for advocacy and counselling.

The boutique is even more useful for the residents. Often when they leave the abuser the women can take very little with them. The most dangerous time for a women in an abusive relationship is when she leaves; going back to get her things can be scary and impossible. Police will provide an escort but usually only for personal items. As well they can only stay until they get another call which often leaves a woman five to fifteen minutes to gather her things and/or her children's things. As a result, when the women find out about the Boutique they are delighted and once in the space the look on their face just brightens. For some women it means they will have a second pair of clothing to wear the next day.