History

A brief History of Nova Vita

In the early 1980s a group of Brant County citizens became concerned that there were no facilities for abused women and their children in Brantford and Brant County. Supported by the results of a needs study, a local community group led efforts to open a transition home for abused women and their children.

A Board of Directors was formed and became incorporated under the name “Nova Vita Women’s Shelter Inc.” in October 1982. The name Nova Vita comes from the Latin “Nova Vitae” meaning “new life” and epitomizes our goal of helping abused woman and children make the transition to a new life, free from violence.

Nova Vita Women's Shelter was opened on June 1, 1983. On that day a woman and her two children were admitted to the shelter on Chatham Street in a large renovated house.

In February 1995, we moved into our new facility at 59 North Park Street. This expanded operation, with 18 beds, allows Nova Vita to better serve residents and the community. The building is completely wheelchair accessible with large children’s play areas. Since 1983 we have provided safe shelter to over 3,175 women and 3,930 children.

In 1996, we changed our name to Nova Vita Women’s Services, and again in 2005 to Nova Vita Domestic Violence Prevention Services which better reflects the diversity of programs and services that we offer. Nova Vita Domestic Violence Prevention Services is the only organization in Brantford and Brant County dedicated to helping both the victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse.

In 2003, Nova Vita completed a 2.8 million dollar addition and renovation to our building on North Park Street. We added 12 residential beds (for a total of 30) and now offer shelter to homeless women and children in addition to abused women and children.

In addition to our shelter, Nova Vita officially opened Maria House – A Home for Families in Transition on May 6, 2005. Maria House was named after Maria Hacking who retired after more than 20 years of dedicated service to Nova Vita.
Nova Vita embarked on an exciting new phase in our continuum of services for abused women and children in the communities of Brantford and Brant.
The house, conveniently located next to Nova Vita, offers longer term residential services in a safe, comfortable setting for up to eight women and children.
Women and children living in Maria House benefit from an appropriate blend of support and independent accommodation to ensure that their transition to violence free living in the community is a long term success.
A Maria House resident may, for example, be an immigrant who doesn’t speak English or have family and friends in the area to support her. She could be a young woman with infants or an older woman who is escaping an abusive marriage and who has never lived independently in the community. Counselling, life skills training and referrals to other community resources are among the transitional support services available to these residents.
Maria House has been fully occupied since the day it opened.

Fuelled by the success of this project, Nova Vita once again expanded Maria House to accommodate an additional 18 to 20 women and children, which officially opened in the summer of 2007.

Nova Vita Domestic Violence Prevention Services

Nova Vita is a registered non-profit charitable social service serving the communities of Brantford and the County of Brant, which includes Paris, St. George, Burford and Mt. Pleasant.

About 65% of our funding is derived from government sources – the provincial government is our primary funded but we also receive revenue from the federal and municipal governments. The remaining 35% is fund raised in the community and from a variety of foundations and other organizations. We could not keep our doors open without community support.

In addition to our core residential shelter services for both abused and homeless women and children, Nova Vita offers a wide range of essential services and programs for both the victims and the perpetrators of domestic violence and for the community including:

• 24-hour crisis telephone line, 519-752-HELP (4357)
• Emergency Safe Shelter
• Transitional and Housing Support Program
• Community Counselling
• Children Exposed to Domestic Violence Program
• Challenge to Change (Men’s Program)
• Caring Families
• Violence Prevention & Violence Education Outreach Programs
• Domestic Abuse Support
• Community Partnerships
• Fundraising and Community Development
• Volunteer Program

Nova Vita Domestic Violence Prevention Services continues to lead by a volunteer Board of Directors and the Senior Management Team.