Sistering is a multi-service agency for at-risk, socially isolated women and gender diverse people in Toronto who are homeless or precariously housed.
We have been serving the Toronto community for over 40 years, validating the experiences of women, in all their diversity, no matter where they are at in their life or healing journey.
Our Vision
A world where all women and gender diverse people are safe, respected, valued, and treated with dignity. All women and gender diverse people have equitable opportunities to thrive and participate in inclusive communities.
Our Mission
We create a safe, welcoming, and non-judgmental space for women and gender diverse people. We are guided by principles of feminism, anti- racism, and anti-oppression. We offer practical and emotional support to those who experience social isolation, homelessness or precarious housing, trauma and violence, discrimination, substance use, or need mental health support. Our equitable programs and services enable women and gender diverse people to take greater control over their lives. We work in collaboration with others in the community to change the social conditions that endanger the welfare of the people we serve.
Our Values
COMMITMENT: Sistering is invested in creating safe and inclusive spaces to respond to the needs of the community.
ACCOUNTABILITY: Sistering is stewarded by those with lived experience and is led by individuals invested in the well being of the organization and the people it serves.
EQUITY: Sistering’s programs are user-informed and designed to meet the needs of our diverse community.
INTEGRITY: Sistering is honest and transparent.
EMPATHY: Our services meet our users where they are at, offering a range on immediate needs and longer term supports.
INCLUSIVITY: We offer safe spaces for women and gender diverse people to access the services they need with care and compassion.
RESILIENCY: Sistering is agile and capable of responding to create positive impact for the community.
Read our Anti-Oppression & Diversity PolicyWho We Serve
Sistering’s target population is women and gender diverse people across Toronto who experience first hand the impact of marginalization and poverty. They may be without homes, sleeping outside, living in Out of the Cold programs or shelters, or poor and at risk of becoming homeless. We serve a diverse group of women and trans people aged 16 to 80-plus, who may have experience with: substance use and mental health issues; sex work; interactions with the criminal justice system; trauma and violence; immigration, refugee or undocumented status; and health issues or disabilities.
At least 70 percent are consumer/survivors or substance users. More than half of them are survivors of violence and abuse from either childhood or adulthood. Fifteen percent have experienced sexual assaults. Many have children, but are disconnected from family due to Children Aid Society interventions, mental illness, institutionalization, violence and abuse.
Our community members come from a range of intersectional and diverse backgrounds and are experiencing, or have experienced:
- Homelessness & precarious housing
- Substance use and mental health issues
- Physical disability & chronic illness
- Trauma and violence
- Immigration, refugee, and undocumented status
