‘Hub Without Walls’ launches in Windsor-Essex

A new gender-based violence program has been launched by multiple Windsor organizations.

A new community response to gender-based violence.

The Violence Against Women Coordinating Committee of Windsor-Essex along with Hiatus House, the Sexual Assault Crisis Centre, and Legal Assistance of Windsor have officially launched ‘Hub Without Walls’ (HWoW).

The Ministry of Children Community and Social is providing $2.5 million for the new initiative that will run through March 2027.

The project will bring together over 18 community agencies and will create 13 new frontline positions.

The new positions will deliver mobile, wraparound supports for local youth, adults, and families.

The initiative will provide trauma counselling and addiction support, prevention programming and risk coordination.

‘Hub Without Walls’ aims to improve early intervention, facilitate mobile service navigation, reduce barriers, and close longstanding service gaps in the region.

Hiatus House Executive Director Sylvie Guenther said the project includes services where staff will be out in the community trying to get the word out to various community agencies.

“To ensure that when somebody is experiencing violence that she is being identified early on or that she has resources or if she comes to a place in the community that she works with, that those people have the tools that they have to be able to ask questions and provide her with some supports and resources and how to get help,” said Guenther.

Sexual Assault Crisis Centre Executive Director Carol Branget said the new project is multi-phases.

“There’s new partnerships that have formed,” said Branget.

“We have two new trauma counsellors for instance that are actually going to be providing counselling services to women of IPV and a new role that we haven’t had before. We’re going to be doing; there’s an education and prevention pillar that’s part of this which is really early identification.”

Branget said they’ll also be working with newcomer agencies.

She said it’s important to work with those agencies and provide them because they know that there’s ‘high risk’ there.

“The no door is a wrong door sort of philosophy of this which is why people are going to be stationed out in the communities,” she said.

“So that instead of expecting survivors to come to us, we’re going to go to them and get that out and so those are new projects being launched in some of those partner agencies as well.”

The agencies said ‘Hub Without Walls’ reflects a bold and collaborative step forward in addressing gender-based violence.

It will offer tailored, accessible and survivor-directed services that meet people where they are.

- Written by Rob Hindi/AM800 News.