The Peer Support Program is a service delivered by the WOCRC’s Volunteer Program that offers women, especially survivors of violence, an opportunity to work individually and collectively to end violence against women.

Peer Support volunteers provide support to women who have been in an abusive relationship by:

1. developing a short-term supportive peer relationship with women surviving family violence;
2. providing support and accompaniment to personal appointments;
3. supporting the growing and diverse needs of Chrysalis House, a 25-bed shelter that offers safe, short-term emergency shelter to women and their dependants fleeing abuse.

To access this service, please call 613-591-3686 and ask to speak with intake. An intake worker must refer you to a Violence Against Women counsellor, who will then refer you to the Peer Support Program. Please note this process can take up to one month.

Peer Support volunteers are:

• Women residing in Kanata, Nepean, Goulbourn, West Carleton, Rideau, Osgoode and Bay wards;
• Women of any age, culture, religion, sexual orientation and ability.

To learn about what Peer Supporters are up to in the community, read about our Peer Support Memorial Gardens Project.

WOCRC is a partner of Unsafe at Home Ottawa. Unsafe at Home Ottawa is a text and chat line for survivors of domestic abuse in Ottawa and in Lanark County. This encrypted and confidential line is available every single day, from 8:30 AM to midnight. Click here to speak to a trained support worker now