Comox Valley Winner

The Comox Valley Transition Society

Our Mission Statement: The Comox Valley Transition Society is a non-profit agency committed to making a positive contribution to the lives of women and their children. We offer supportive programs that provide safety and security and the prevention of violence as well as personal well being through the provision of a safe shelter, counseling, education and advocacy.

Lilli House, our shelter for women and their children who are escaping abusive relationships, opened in 1992. Since then, we have received 18,000 crisis calls and we have sheltered 4823 women and children. Some stay for just one night. Others stay for several weeks as they work on securing financial help, housing and support services. Some arrive in the middle of the night, barefoot and wearing their pyjamas. Others arrive with suitcases carefully packed, bringing their most precious belongings with them. All are frightened and in a state of crisis.

At Lilli House, women and children find a warm, comfortable, well kept home with friendly, welcoming staff. 24 hours a day, women can access these knowledgeable, highly trained staff for support and assistance with the many tasks they need to accomplish in rebuilding their lives. Children have a special program where they receive support and also have opportunities to just be kids, both in our well-equipped playroom and outside in the playground.

With so many residents coming and going, coupled with our belief that women and children in crisis should have a comfortable, well maintained environment, Lilli House is in constant need of upkeep. Over the last 18 years, we have done a lot of laundry – clothing, bedding, and towels. Our laundry room is showing the signs of constant use and in need of refurbishing.

$10,000 would provide the necessary funds to makeover our laundry room. The facelift would include replacing the appliances and creating a more space efficient, functional and attractive space.

The new space will have clean lines, be easy to keep and painted in a calming tone in keeping with the rest of the home. Specifically we would tear out the old cupboards that are poorly situated and falling apart and replace them with a spacious accessible countertop for sorting and folding laundry. Below would be space designed for a recycling centre. A pantry style cabinet with locking doors would be installed to hold products that may be hazardous to children plus extra household items. The cupboard will provide the extra storage space needed so that we can take advantage of caselot sales and bulk purchases. Finally, we would replace our aging and constantly in need of repair washers and dryers with stacking, energy efficient washers and dryers. The reorganization would allow for an upright freezer in the laundry room. The old chest freezer (which swallows the tallest of us when reaching for something in the bottom) would be removed from the kitchen and provide space for more around the dinner table.