The YWCA – a name that echoed hope and safety for me. But the reality, as it turns out, was a stark contrast and has left me with a deeper trauma than I had before living there. 

I am a survivor of domestic abuse. I endured homelessness in 2018, and again in 2021. I sought refuge at the YWCA Second Stage Housing to seek help and respite from the endless abuse that I had been enduring. 

And I am not the only one who has gone through a journey like this. There are many more, with different health conditions and experiences.

My personal experience and conversations with other residents illuminate a grim reality. The staff at this facility seem to have forgotten their purpose - helping women rise above homelessness and violence. Instead, they abuse their authority, exploiting those who should be under their care. All of the warning letters and threats of being kicked out had pushed me so far, that I've tried to take my own life and live on the streets. And it turns out, the women who have been or are currently living there, have all experienced the same thing. I'm hoping.. not as viceral of a reaction as I had, but I refuse to believe that they felt different than me.

The staff force these victims to remain silent and avoid reporting this to the authorities, or else they will never allow them to seek help from VAW shelters in the future.

Moreover, the YWCA's living conditions are appalling. It reeks of biological hazards, rat feces, and mold - inhabitants' health deteriorating by the day. If you had councellors or a social worker, they would end any form of assistance because they believe the "YWCA has good councellors", when its really just Sharon Ross, a woman who got the job in the building through her internal connections with the director, Suzanne. She has been working her job for over 20 years, yet she avoids calling the health department to clean out the basement, since its rancid down there and never ensures the residence have a clean living space to breathe and live in. She also refuses to have enough staff in the building to ensure the safety of the women in the building; claiming that if she is not present in the building, then nothing wrong is happening. Meanwhile, women are fighting against each other to gain her approval, which most have agreed that she was nothing but abusive to every resident.

Infact, I recall being one of the residents who assisted in discarding donations that accumulated over the years. The staff blamed Covid-19 for the lack of councellors and cleanliness, but that doesn't explain the fear mongering and power play that happens towards the victims living inside the Adelaide House. So unfortunately,  donating to the company leads to more landfill..

With rent costs increasing with poor housing opportunities in durham region, and the abused women are forced to take the responsibility to maintain the upkeep of the building (or else they get eviction warnings) while the health hazards continue to grow. There is rancid and expired food in their fridges, lack of kosher and Halal food, racism towards women of color, and all of them are forced to never speak out of their experiences to the media, or outside the building because "its private property". Its a never ending cycle of hatred from staff and women turning against each other in order to survive. And the staff have the audacity to demand these victims to "be grateful for food and a roof", when those victims are paying for those expenses, even though the government pays them to maintain the building AND recieve food from feed the need which are mostly expired foods

The impact this facility has had on resident mental health is devastating. The lack of compassionate and effective counseling, coupled with the director's ignorance about these issues, cultivates an environment of desperation and despair, far from the sanctuary it ought to be. Let me make it clear, it is not only youth, but seniors with different disabilities, even cancer, living in that building.

Now, it's time for us, the survivors, the voices muzzled by the very institution that should protect us, to demand justice.

We urge the appropriate authorities to launch a thorough investigation into the YWCA Second Stage Housing's conditions and staff conduct. This is not merely about a building's shortcomings; it is about the lives of women who have suffered enough, seeking hope but finding only more torment. To remain silent is to consent to this mistreatment. Sign this petition, stand with us, demand an immediate and comprehensive investigation, and let's ensure that those who reach out for help are not met with more hurt.