Media Advisory - YWCA Canada releases Life Beyond Shelter Report Calls for
Coordination on Violence Against Women at all levels of government

TORONTO, Oct. 9 /CNW/ -

    
    WHAT:     YWCA Canada news conference launching the Life Beyond Shelter,
              phase III of a major multi-year national research initiative
              pointing to the causal connection between domestic violence and
              women's homelessness and highlighting poverty, housing, the
              legal environment, life in the North and the exclusion of
              marginalized women as critical barriers for women seeking to
              move beyond violence.

    WHO:      Paulette Senior, CEO, YWCA Canada; Pamela Cross, report
              researcher and family law expert; Heather McGregor, CEO,
              YWCA Toronto; Ann Decter, Director of Advocacy & Public Policy,
              YWCA Canada; Janet Holden, survivor.

    WHEN:     Tuesday, October 13, 2009
              10:00am-11:00am EST

    WHERE:    YWCA Toronto
              80 Woodlawn Avenue East
              Toronto, ON
    

Life Beyond Shelter cites the implementation of coordinated policies at all three levels of government and across parallel jurisdictions as the only possibility for an effective national response that reduces violence against women. Policies must recognizes the realities and vulnerabilities of women in Canada's north, and address the needs of Aboriginal women.

Released today by YWCAs across the country including Hamilton, Lethbridge, Muskoka, Peterborough, Quebec, Saskatoon, Sudbury and Toronto, Life Beyond Shelter, cuts a wide policy swath. Report recommendations include implementing women's advocates to guide at-risk women through services and systems; expanding violence awareness and prevention with an expanded commitment from men; and mandatory professional education on violence against women for all professional fields women encounter as they move through shelters, courts, hospitals, income security programs, housing and into community.

About YWCA Canada:

YWCA Canada is the country's oldest and largest women's multi-service organization. With 33 Member Associations operating in more than 400 districts and communities across the country, our Turning Point Programs for Women(TM) - which address personal safety, economic security and well-being - reach out to 1 million women and girls in nine provinces and one territory. YWCA is the largest national provider of shelter to women, serving 25,000 women, children and teen girls including 6,000 fleeing woman abuse each year. We are the largest provider of literacy, life skills, employment and counselling programs in the country, and the second largest provider of childcare services. YWCA Canada is a member association of the World YWCA which unites 25 million women and girls worldwide and spans 125 countries. For more information about YWCA Canada and our Member Associations, visit www.ywcacanada.ca.

For further information: on YWCA Canada and its programs and services, or to set up an interviews with Paulette Senior, CEO of YWCA Canada and other speakers, please contact Laura Tilley, Communications Coordinator at [phone]