About Bravestone Centre
Who We Are
Guided by our mission, Bravestone Centre is a non-profit charitable organization that provides women and their children affected by domestic violence with secure and safe on-site housing, individual and group therapeutic counselling, support programs, advocacy, and connection with community resources. Our mandate is to address the needs of women who have already taken steps toward resolving the initial crisis involved in their decision to separate from their abusive partner.
Bravestone Centre is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. For over 28 years, under the previous name of WISH Inc. (Women in Second Stage Housing), we have been honoured to work with courageous women and their children as they break free from family violence.
Bravestone Centre has 14 client suites including 13 2-bedroom and one 4-bedroom suites. During our 12-month program, families live independently in their program suite and are responsible for their own daily needs. All of our suites have basic furnishing to enable families’ ease of move-in.
Our six-month Follow-up Program continues to provide counselling and support to those women and their children who have completed the on-site program as they integrate back into the community and gain greater independence.
Our Mandate
Bravestone Centre offers women and their children the opportunity to heal and grow in a cooperative, caring environment with other families who have shared a similar experience. Bravestone Centre believes that families must be free from danger to break the cycle of violence.
What We Do
Bravestone Centre is not a 24/7 emergency shelter. Our program focuses on helping women feel safe, begin to heal, and grow through attending ongoing therapeutic counselling and support programs. While in our program, women have a safe, confidential, and secure place to live independently within their own suites. Bravestone Centre offices are onsite and open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.
The transition period offered by Bravestone Centre helps women and their families to heal physically and emotionally. Change is hard, but through safety, support, and connection, women gain confidence in themselves, become independent, and regain a balanced perspectives on their lives.
Bravestone Centre services acknowledge that women are the experts about their own needs:
- Individual and group therapeutic counselling for women
- Developmentally appropriate individual and group counselling for children
- Parenting Support Groups
- Circle of Security
- Healthy Coping & Relapse Prevention
- On-site Food Bank
- Advocacy and Community Referrals
- Six-month Follow-up Program
Our Clients
Our clients are those who identify as women, who have been abused in their adult intimate relationships, and want ongoing support as they make the transition away from the abusive relationship and integrate into the community. Our mandate addresses the needs of women who have decided to separate from their abusive partner.
The transition period at Bravestone Centre helps women and their children become more independent and to build their own community network. Referrals are accepted from the individual women themselves as well as from various agencies within the community and province.
Our Accreditation
Bravestone Centre has been accredited under Imagine Canada’s exclusive national Standards Program. We are proud to be among the first few charitable organizations in Manitoba that hold this honour.
The Standards Program is a Canada-wide set of shared standards for charities and non-profits designed to demonstrate their compliance in five fundamental areas: board governance; financial accountability and transparency; fundraising; staff management; and volunteer involvement. It helps organizations mitigate risk by ensuring that staff and volunteers understand and meet their legal, financial and fiduciary responsibilities.