Half-Marathon for the Phoenix Place
Hello world :)
On Saturday May 3rd I will be running a Half-Marathon and raising $3000 to help keep a Women's shelter in my home-town open that is at risk of closing open. The Phoenix Place is a second-stage shelter for women who have left abusive relationships. It is very minimally funded by the government, but is extremely needed since affordable housing is becoming less and less accessible in Hamilton. Women are typically referred to the Phoneix Place from emergency shelters, because it is obvious that 7-10 weeks (time spent in an emergency shelter) is definitely not enough time for a woman and her children to get their lives back together, find work, or navigate the legal system. Not only this, but the average women will go to a crisis shelter 7 times whereas the success rate of a woman returning to a violent free home from the Phoenix Place is 97%.
About 100 abused women are turned away from shelters in Hamilton each month because there are not enough beds. In fact last year alone, the government spent $112,000 on hotel rooms and food for women in a "maxed out shelter system." Now is definitely not the time for a shelter like this one to be closing
The annual operating budget is $220,000. Provincial funding amounts to $65,000. The City of Hamilton gives the shelter $13,000. GE Canada donates $5,000. The shelter is at risk of closing unless it can raise the money, but it just doesn't have the resources to fundraise it alone. So that's where all of you come in!
Please consider donating as much or as little as you can! I have been promised by the Pheonix Place that all donations of $10 or more will receive a tax receipt (ensure your donation isn't anonymous!)
For more information on the shelter and it's current situation, please check out this story published in the hamilton spectator. I will post updates as I receive them!
