Serving Brantford and the County of Brant for over 40 years, Nova Vita provides safe shelter, security, and essential support to individuals and families impacted by violence and homelessness.

Our Vision: A world without violence where individuals, relationships, families, and communities are safe, empowered, and healthy.

Our Mission: Nova Vita provides safety and support for people experiencing gender-based violence, delivers programs that promote accountability and change for those who cause harm, and works with community partners to strengthen prevention and coordinated responses

Our Values:

• Trauma-Informed: We practice the principles of trauma-informed care - safety, choice, trust, collaboration, empowerment, and equity - and create environments that reflect these principles for those we serve and those who do this work. 

• Equity and Inclusion: We work to reduce systemic barriers and ensure our services are accessible, relevant, and responsive to the diverse communities we serve, including Indigenous peoples, racialized individuals, 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, newcomers, and people with disabilities.

• Leadership: We contribute our expertise to strengthen community awareness, partnerships, and system responses to gender-based violence.

• Effective: We deliver high-quality services that respond to evolving needs, and we use evidence, data, and experience to continuously strengthen our impact.

• Accountability: We are accountable to the people we serve, our community, our funders, and those who do this work. We are transparent in our decisions, actions, and use of resources.

• Community-Focused: We are responsive to the needs of our community and work alongside our partners to strengthen coordinated, local responses to gender-based violence.

Our Programs and Services

• 24 Hour Crisis and Support Line: Crisis support workers are available 24/7 via phone, text, or webchat to offer support, safety planning, information, and referrals to individuals who have experienced violence, abuse, or homelessness. Information and referrals are also offered to friends, family, and supporters, as well as to those who have caused harm in their relationship. Call/Text: 519-752-HELP | Webchat: novavita.org/chat
• Emergency Shelter: We offer a 33+ bed shelter for women and children who are escaping violence, abuse or homelessness. Shelter workers offer trauma-informed crisis counselling and support, safety planning, resources for cultural and diverse needs, assistance with finding housing, and referrals. Children's programs ad parenting support are also available.
• Housing and Outreach Support: Assisting women and their children who are transitioning from an abusive relationship to safe, affordable housing with wrap-around supports. Transitional Support Workers provide safety planning, information referrals, transition planning, housing support, court support, and system navigation.
• Second Stage Transitional Housing: Offering transitional housing units with additional wraparound support for women and their children.
• Counselling for Women: Providing trauma-informed individual and group counselling for women to heal from the abuse they have experienced.
• Children's Programs Offering trauma-informed counselling and support to children who have witnessed or experienced abuse in their home. Parenting support, safety planning, and counselling is also offered to parents and caregivers. 
• Family Programs: Offering counselling and support services for all members of the family who are experiencing high conflict or domestic violence. 
• Services for Youth: Offering trauma-informed counselling and support for youth between the ages of 13 to 18, including interventions for youth at risk of human trafficking. 
• Services for Men: Offering trauma-informed counselling for men who have experienced abuse or who have caused harm in their relationship. 
• Challenge to Change Program: providing trauma-informed individual and group counselling to those who have used, or are at risk of using violence in their relationship, including the court-mandated Partner Assault Response (PAR) Program.
• Community Engagement and Public Education: Delivering informative presentations to schools, businesses, and community organizations about healthy relationships, human trafficking, how to support someone who has experienced abuse, and the programs we offer.