Transition houses

Transition houses, safe homes, and second stage houses provide temporary housing in a safe, secure environment for women and their children leaving abusive relationships. Their addresses are not widely publicized to try to keep them safer.

Transition houses Safe homes Second stage houses
  • Women and their children usually stay in a transition house for less than a month.
  • Safe homes provide temporary accommodation in communities where transition houses do not exist.
  • They may be a rental apartment, private home, or hotel unit.
  • Second stage houses help women who have left abusive relationships make long-term plans for independent living.
  • Women and their children usually stay in second stage houses for six to 18 months.

 

BC Housing provides contact lists for:

  • transition houses (look for "TH" in the right-hand column),
  • safe homes (look for "SH" in the right-hand column), and
  • second stage houses.
Tip: The BC Housing and BC Society of Transition Houses websites both contain a lot of good information about transition houses.