A new low-barrier women’s shelter in Sudbury will open in January

Sudbury -

The Elizabeth Fry Society of Northeastern Ontario will be opening a low-barrier women’s shelter in the New Year.

Executive director Cory Roslyn said the lack of affordable housing in Sudbury has shelters at their capacity limit, leaving more people homeless.

Roslyn said the city’s Off the Street Shelter downtown, run by the Canadian Mental Health Association, is seeing the same group of women each night, which is why the society wants to create a safe space for those women.

“As much as CMHA is doing a fantastic job of running their shelter, it is sort of one big open space where men and women are sharing and so this will create additional safety,” said Roslyn.

“This I think is well needed and the fact that we are offering a low-barrier space, additionally will serve a different group of women than what’s available in our city already.”

Roslyn said the new shelter is vital and depending on the location, she is hoping it will allow between 10 and 15 women to access the service every night.

“The vast majority of the women we work with across our programs have been victims of violence in the past,” said Roslyn.

“They have history of trauma, they are struggling with addictions, and so when you combine those factors together ... being in a space where you’re laying down to sleep at night and you’re in the same room as men, it’s not the most comfortable thing for many women.”

Officials said they hope to have the new shelter open Jan. 1.