Maison d’amitié

Crisis shelter for francophone women and their children

Sister Solange Beauparlant and Sister Rita Labelle are the founding pioneers of Maison d’amitié; they held their first board meeting in 1975.

The shelter was officially recognized by the government of Canada as a non-profit organization on March 29, 1976 and one year later, in April 1977, Maison d’amitié welcomed a mother and her son; by April 1978, 134 families had seeked shelter.

In 1989, the shelter acquired a new home (change of address), yet 15 beds proved to be insufficient due to an increased demand for services; a second home opened its doors in 2006, thus doubling the number of families being sheltered.

In May 2006, in partnership with other shelters across the province, a health line became available for francophone women in crisis (1-877-FEMAIDE), the first and only crisis line offered in French to the women of Ontario.

http://www.maisondamitie.ca