The Women’s Interval Home of Sarnia-Lambton

What The Women’s Interval Home of Sarnia-Lambton does

The Women's Interval Home of Sarnia-Lambton is a nonprofit charitable organization established on December 10, 1977, that provides emergency shelter, counseling, and crisis support services to women and children experiencing domestic violence in the Sarnia-Lambton region of Ontario, Canada. The organization operates a 17-bed emergency shelter available 24/7, a 24-hour crisis support line, individual and group counseling, child and youth counseling for ages 4-18, transitional and housing support, support groups, and the Restore YOU wellness program. It additionally runs a County Outreach program delivering services across Lambton County through partnerships with community health centres in Forest, Petrolia, and Watford.

The organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and funded through a blend of partial government grants from the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (plus a 2023 ESDC grant), community donations via CanadaHelps and Zeffy, in-kind donations through Mission Thrift, and recurring fundraising events including the annual Walk a Mile and Mother's Day Campaign. All services are provided free of charge on a confidential basis, with multilingual support including English, French, and interpreters upon request. The operating model is event-driven and community-funded, with no proprietary technology platform, app, or AI capabilities; the underlying 'platform' is a human-delivered service network augmented by a Squarespace website, a phone-based crisis line, and virtual/phone counseling channels.

The customer base is a single vertical: women and dependents experiencing intimate partner violence, with member-level corporate and institutional partners (Blackburn Radio, Shoppers Drug Mart, Hines Investments, Lambton County Community Health Centres) supporting awareness and fundraising rather than purchasing services. The organization competes not on commercial terms but on community trust, regulatory standing with the Ontario Association of Interval & Transition Houses, and 47 years of operating history in the Sarnia-Lambton catchment.

Name

The Women’s Interval Home of Sarnia-Lambton

Legal name

Women's Interval Home of Sarnia-Lambton Inc.

Website

https://womensintervalhome.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Women's Interval Home of Sarnia-Lambton is a nonprofit founded in 1977 that operates a 17-bed emergency shelter, 24-hour crisis line, counseling, and county outreach services for women and children experiencing domestic violence in the Sarnia-Lambton region of Ontario, Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Domestic Violence Shelter and Survivor Support Services

NAICS

Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Temporary Shelters (624221), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAEAB

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Social Services & Community Support (Food, Housing, Family)

Keywords

• Domestic violence shelter
• Crisis counselling services
• Emergency housing support
• Trauma recovery services
• Community outreach programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Sarnia

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Partially funded by the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. This government funding supports core shelter operations and partial service delivery.
2. Charitable Donations: Community donations through direct contributions, monthly giving programs, and third-party fundraisers support programs and services beyond government funding. Donations can be made online via CanadaHelps or Zeffy platforms.
3. In-Kind Donations: Accepts donations of new items and gently used items (through Mission Thrift partnership) to support shelter residents.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Women's Interval Home of Sarnia-Lambton is a nonprofit charitable organization that operates a 17-bed emergency shelter, a 24-hour crisis support line, and individual and group counselling for women and children fleeing domestic violence in the Sarnia-Lambton region. Services are delivered free of charge and include emergency shelter, crisis intervention, risk assessment and safety planning, transitional and housing support, child witness counselling, support groups, and a county-wide outreach program across Lambton County.

Product overview

The Women's Interval Home of Sarnia-Lambton is a nonprofit charitable organization established in 1977 that provides a comprehensive suite of shelter and support services for women and children experiencing domestic violence. The organization operates as a service provider rather than a technology platform, offering 17 emergency shelter beds available 24/7, a 24-hour crisis line, individual and group counselling, child witness services, transitional housing support, and county-wide outreach programs. Services are delivered through a combination of in-person, phone, and virtual channels, with additional education programs including community information sessions and the Restore YOU wellness program. The organization receives partial funding from the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and relies on community donations to supplement essential services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Emergency Shelter Provides 17 Ministry-funded emergency beds for women and their dependents seeking safety from abusive situations, available 24/7. Offers brief solution-focused individual and group counselling, case management, safety planning, support, and advocacy.
• 24-Hour Crisis Line

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,500 crisis calls answered annually
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ontario Association of Interval & Transition HousescoreOthersIndustry association representing interval and transition houses in Ontario. The organization is listed as a member of this association.
• Mission ThriftminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrift store partnership where gently used donations are credited to the Women's Interval Home. Women who access services can shop at Mission Thrift (at no cost) for clothing and items they need, providing dignity and agency in their recovery.
• Blackburn Radio IncminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal radio partner that supports the organization's community awareness and fundraising efforts.
• Shoppers Drug MartminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor supporting women's health initiatives and the organization's fundraising campaigns.
• Lambton County Community Health CentrescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with community health centres in Forest, Petrolia, and Watford to provide county-wide outreach services to rural areas of Lambton County.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Assaulted Women's Helpline (AWHL): A provincial crisis-line and counseling organization for women experiencing violence, overlapping directly with WIH's 24-hour crisis line service while not operating physical shelter beds — a partial-overlap peer.

Direct peers

• Women's Shelter of York Region (Sandgate): An Ontario regional women's shelter providing emergency shelter, transitional housing, and counseling services for women and children fleeing abuse — directly comparable in service model and nonprofit shelter structure.
• Nisa Homes: An Ottawa-based transitional housing and support organization for women and children fleeing abuse, offering shelter, counseling, and aftercare — operating the same Ontario nonprofit shelter model as WIH.
• Interval House (Toronto): A Toronto-based women's shelter and counseling organization that operates the same core model of 24/7 emergency shelter, crisis line, and counseling for women fleeing abuse — directly comparable to the Sarnia-Lambton Interval Home in service mix, target population, and Ontario nonprofit structure.
• Women's Habitat (Etobicoke): An Ontario shelter and counseling organization serving women and children experiencing violence, providing emergency shelter, crisis support, counseling, and outreach — a near-identical service profile to the Women's Interval Home.
• Anova (London, Ontario): Formerly Women's Community House, Anova is a southwestern Ontario shelter and counseling organization serving survivors of gender-based violence, offering shelter, counseling, and 24/7 crisis line — comparable in mission and operating geography to WIH.

Others

• Ontario Association of Interval & Transition Houses (OAITH): The provincial industry association of which WIH is a member; comparable in sector rather than service delivery, OAITH sets standards, advocates for policy, and convenes the network of Ontario women's shelters — making WIH a constituent member.

Broad incumbents

• YWCA Canada: A national federation providing women's shelters and GBV support services across many Canadian communities. WIH operates a comparable but narrower, single-region version of YWCA's shelter and women's-empowerment programs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WIH2016

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Women’s Interval Home of Sarnia-Lambton