Housing is essential. But it’s only the beginning. 

What happens when housing support goes beyond walls and doors? 

When a woman and her children flee violence, finding safe housing is only the first step. The real challenge is everything that follows: healing from trauma, reclaiming independence, and rebuilding a life from the ground up, all while managing the stress of finding permanent affordable housing.  

This is exactly what ONPHA member, Armagh House, was designed to do. As Peel Region’s only second-stage transitional supportive housing provider, Armagh offers more than shelter for women leaving gender-based violence. They offer time, stability, and wraparound trauma-informed supports that make long-term safety and independence possible.  

It’s this commitment to their client’s future that earned them the 2025 ONPHA Award for Excellence.  

Where trauma-informed housing meets healing 

Since 1991, Armagh has been a safe space for families leaving violence. Unlike emergency shelters that offer short-term stays, Armagh provides safe, affordable housing for up to four years, with additional outreach support after move-out.  

Operating 12 units in Brampton and 19 units in Mississauga, Armagh ensures each woman has her own furnished apartment. But what sets them apart is their holistic, trauma-informed approach embedded in their support programing: 

  • Financial literacy and stability.
  • Career and employment support. 
  • Therapy and group counselling. 
  • Specialized children’s programming.
  • Parenting programs for single-parent households.

The goal? To give women the foundation, stability, and resources to thrive independently. 

A regional crisis, a local response 

Armagh House is operating on the front lines of a regional crisis. In 2023, Peel Region declared gender and intimate partner violence an epidemic. Police responded to more than 17,000 incidents in 2021 alone, that’s about 47 per day. Intimate partner violence has consistently topped the list of all reported crimes in Peel Region since 2022. 

Before the pandemic, Armagh had to turn away approximately four families for every available unit. Today, that number has more than doubled.  

Yet, Armagh continues to advocate and expand. Their recent efforts have tripled their capacity by adding 10 new units in Mississauga, and opening 12 new apartment-style units in Brampton, significantly increasing their reach.  

Prevention before crisis 

Armagh isn’t stopping at expanding capacity. Their new Chrysalis Project is a unique early intervention initiative, designed to support families experiencing high conflict before tensions escalate into physical violence.  

The program works with couples committed to healthier relationships, providing: therapeutic support, links to housing and legal services, and specialized care for children. By intervening early, this three-year pilot aims to break cycles of violence before it can begin.  

This is what going beyond looks like – addressing not just the aftermath of violence, but working to prevent it from happening in the first place.  

What going beyond in housing looks like 

What makes Armagh’s approach transformative is how they see the women they serve: not only as survivors, but as capable individuals whose stories are being rewritten.  

This philosophy shapes everything they do. From the physical spaces they design, to the partnerships that make comprehensive care possible. Beyond the furnished apartments, tenants have access to community spaces designed for living and rebuilding, such as: laundry facilities, children’s play areas, youth, and programming rooms.  

But they also know that no single organization can address every need. By partnering with network agencies such as Safe Centre of Peel, and the Peel Committee Against Women Abuse, they connect families to a coordinated network of specialized supports, ensuring that both immediate safety and long-term independence are within reach.  

Now, it’s your turn 

Armagh’s trauma-informed housing care model demonstrates what’s possible when housing providers recognize their power to break systemic cycles of poverty, trauma, and violence. But they’re not alone in this work.  

Every community housing provider has a story of going beyond their core mandate. You’ve seen them in your work every day. They’re the ones who don’t just house people, they change lives.  

Is your organization going beyond housing? Nominations for the 2026 ONPHA Award for Excellence are opening in March. Get ready!   

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