NAHNAHDA-WEE-EE-WAYWIN Sioux Lookout Sexual Assault and Counselling Centre

What NAHNAHDA-WEE-EE-WAYWIN Sioux Lookout Sexual Assault and Counselling Centre does

First Step Women's Shelter, operating in Ontario under the legal name NAHNAHDA-WEE-EE-WAYWIN Sioux Lookout Sexual Assault and Counselling Centre, is a non-profit charitable organization governed by a voluntary elected Board of Directors and headquartered in Sioux Lookout, Ontario (P.O. Box 1208, P8T 1B8). It operates a 14-bed emergency shelter facility providing safe accommodation to physically, emotionally, and/or sexually abused women and their children for stays of up to six weeks. The shelter's catchment spans 24 communities across Northwestern Ontario, including several remote Indigenous communities, with a stated mission to deliver culturally appropriate services with a particular focus on Indigenous women and their children.

The organization's service portfolio is delivered entirely free of charge and comprises: a 24-hour crisis telephone line; front-line counsellor services for safety assessment, referrals, and travel coordination; a counselling program covering current and historic abuse; a Transitional Housing & Support Program extending services to women living outside the shelter; a Child and Youth Program; safety planning; referral and advocacy into hospitals, police, legal services, and family services; and community education workshops across the catchment area. Underlying technology is minimal — there is no proprietary platform, no mobile app, and no API; service delivery relies on human staff, telephone infrastructure, and an informational website (fsws.ca).

The business model is donation- and grant-funded philanthropy: the organization accepts tax-receipted charitable donations through the CanadaHelps portal and by cheque, and operates under charitable registration 896568417RR0001. Government and/or foundation funding is implied by the Board governance structure and provincial sector affiliation, though specific funders and amounts are not disclosed. There is no fee-for-service revenue stream, no headcount disclosed, no app or SaaS product, and no parent or subsidiary entities. Partnerships are predominantly referral-based and include OAITH (Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses), Talk4Healing, Assaulted Women's Helpline, ShelterSafe, the Ontario Women's Directorate, and a network of regional Ontario women's shelters.

Name

NAHNAHDA-WEE-EE-WAYWIN Sioux Lookout Sexual Assault and Counselling Centre

Legal name

First Step Women's Shelter

Website

https://fsws.ca

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

First Step Women's Shelter is a non-profit charitable organization operating a 14-bed emergency shelter in Sioux Lookout, Ontario, serving abused women and children across 24 Northwestern Ontario communities, with a focus on Indigenous survivors. Services include a 24-hour crisis line, counselling, transitional housing, child/youth programs, and advocacy, all delivered free of charge.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Domestic Violence Support Services

NAICS

Temporary Shelters (624221)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC)

Keywords

• Domestic violence shelter
• Crisis intervention services
• Women counselling services
• Emergency housing support
• Sexual assault counselling

Headquarters

HQ city

Sioux Lookout

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: Non-profit charitable organization accepting donations through CanadaHelps portal and cheque donations. Services are provided free of charge to clients.
2. Government Funding: Operates as a non-profit charitable organization governed by a voluntary elected Board of Directors, suggesting government and/or foundation funding support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

First Step Women's Shelter is a non-profit charitable organization operating a 14-bed emergency shelter facility in Sioux Lookout, Ontario. It provides safe accommodation and comprehensive support services—including a 24-hour crisis line, counselling, safety planning, referrals, advocacy, transitional housing, and child and youth programming—for physically, emotionally, and/or sexually abused women and their children, with a particular focus on Indigenous women.

Product overview

First Step Women's Shelter operates as a single integrated service platform providing emergency shelter and comprehensive support services for abused women and children. The organization centers its offering around a 14-bed residential facility supplemented by 24-hour crisis line access, individual and group counselling, a Transitional Housing & Support Program for post-shelter assistance, and a Child and Youth Program. All services are delivered through trained front-line staff and include safety planning, community referrals, advocacy, and educational workshops. The organization is a non-profit charitable entity governed by a voluntary Board of Directors with a particular focus on Indigenous women and their children.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Emergency Shelter

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered supporting resource and supporting.

• Talk4Healingsupporting resourceOthersFree and culturally safe telephone help line for Aboriginal Women living in Northern Ontario. Referenced as a resource for clients needing additional culturally-appropriate support services.
• Assaulted Women's Helplinesupporting resourceOthers24-hour telephone crisis line for women in Ontario, available to friends and family of abused women, service providers and professionals. Listed as a referral resource for clients.
• OAITH (Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses)supporting resourceOthersProvincial coalition of first stage emergency shelters for abused women and children. Member organization providing network support and advocacy.
• ShelterSafesupporting resourceOthersOnline resource with clickable map to help women and children find nearest shelter for safety from violence and abuse. Listed as a referral resource.
• Ontario Women's Directoratesupporting resourceOthersOntario government site focused on preventing violence against women, listing shelters and sexual assault centres throughout Ontario.
• Other Regional Shelters Networksupporting resourceOthersNetwork of regional women's shelters including Rainy River District Shelter of Hope, Hoshizaki House (Dryden), Geraldton Family Resource Centre, Saakaate House (Kenora), Marjorie House (Marathon), New Starts for Women (Red Lake), Beendigen and Faye Peterson (Thunder Bay). Mutual referral and support network.
• CanadaHelpssupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerPublic charitable foundation (896568417RR0001) providing donation portal for Canadian charities. Accepts donations to First Step Women's Shelter through their platform.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hoshizaki House (Dryden): Women's shelter serving Dryden and surrounding area in Northwestern Ontario. Listed as a direct regional peer in First Step's referral network with overlapping service model.
• Talk4Healing: Free, culturally safe telephone helpline for Indigenous women in Northern Ontario. Provides overlapping crisis-line services and is a referral partner of First Step.
• Beendigen (Thunder Bay Women's Shelter): Emergency shelter and support services for abused women in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Direct operational peer in Northwestern Ontario, listed as part of the same regional shelter referral network as First Step.
• Faye Peterson House (Thunder Bay): Sexual assault centre and women's shelter in Thunder Bay providing crisis support, counselling, and shelter—closely aligned services in the same Northwestern Ontario region.
• Geraldton Family Resource Centre: Northern Ontario resource centre providing support services to women and families in the Geraldton area; part of First Step's referral network with comparable rural/remote service delivery.
• Saakaate House (Kenora): Women's emergency shelter in Kenora, Ontario serving a similar remote Northwestern Ontario catchment. Listed as part of First Step's regional referral network.
• Rainy River District Shelter of Hope: Emergency shelter for women fleeing abuse in the Rainy River District of Northwestern Ontario. Comparable service model and regional scope.

Broad incumbents

• Ontario Women's Directorate: Ontario government office focused on preventing violence against women. Listed as a government resource partner; functions as a funder/policy actor in the same service domain.
• ShelterSafe: Online platform with clickable map helping women locate the nearest shelter across Canada. Aggregator/ecosystem player in the same anti-violence sector.
• OAITH (Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses): Provincial coalition of first-stage emergency shelters for abused women in Ontario. First Step is a member; OAITH serves as an industry association and umbrella advocacy organization spanning all member shelters.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 NAHNAHDA-WEE-EE-WAYWIN Sioux Lookout Sexual Assault and Counselling Centre