Connection manual: Mothers and children program guide
The Connections Manual is a guide for service providers and organizations to deliver group-based interventions for mothers and young children experiencing violence in relationships. Grounded in research and practice, this resource provides a structured curriculum that supports mothers in understanding the impact of violence, substance use, and trauma on their relationships, parenting, and child development. […]
Creative interventions toolkit
The creative interventions toolkit is a practical guide that helps community members, facilitators, and organizations prevent and respond to interpersonal violence. Developed by Creative Interventions, it offers a community-based model that empowers everyday people to support survivors and take collective action beyond traditional criminal justice responses. Special feature: Includes step-by-step tools, exercises, and real-world stories […]
Sharing in the healing journey expressive arts toolkit
The sharing in the healing journey expressive arts toolkit is a practical guide that helps facilitators support children and their mothers or gender-diverse parents who have experienced domestic violence. Developed by YWCA Toronto and grounded in over 24 years of the Here to Help program, it provides step-by-step guidance for using expressive arts to support […]
Arts and health evaluation toolkit
The arts and health evaluation toolkit (AHET) is a plain-language guide that helps artists, practitioners, and community organizations run structured, credible evaluations of arts and health programmes. It offers step-by-step guidance to measure and communicate health and well-being outcomes as expectations for evidence and impact reporting grow. Special feature: Includes a structured guide for goal […]
The THRivE toolkit
The THRivE toolkit is a practical guide that helps arts and heritage practitioners, researchers, and organizations evaluate health and well-being outcomes in community and clinical settings. It provides structured, accessible guidance to strengthen evaluation design, analysis, and reporting as demand for credible outcome measurement grows. Special feature: Offers step-by-step guidance on measuring emotional responses, mood […]
Creative care: A resource for artists working in humanitarian contexts toolkit
The Creative Care Toolkit is a plain-language guide that helps artists working in humanitarian settings design safe, meaningful arts-based initiatives during times of crisis. Created for artists without formal training in creative arts therapies or psychosocial support, it offers step-by-step guidance grounded in safety, cultural humility, and collaboration. Special feature: Includes six step-by-step modules, real-world […]
A scoping review on intimate partner violence in Canada’s immigrant communities
Date: September 3, 2018 Author(s): Philomina Okeke-Ihejirika, Sophie Yohani, Janine Muster, Alphonse Ndem, Thane Chambers, Virginia Pow This paper presents a scoping review of existing research on intimate partner violence (IPV) within immigrant communities in Canada. Drawing on 30 studies published over two decades, the authors examine how immigrant women experience, interpret, and respond to […]
Barriers in accessing intimate partner violence services
Date: March 25, 2025 Author(s): Tatiana Sanhueza-Morales, Sonia Michaelsen, Nassera Touati, Lourdes Rodriguez del Barrio This paper examines the barriers immigrant and minority ethnic women face when accessing intimate partner violence (IPV) services in a marginalized, multicultural neighbourhood in Montreal, Canada. Using both survivor and community worker perspectives, the study highlights how systemic, organizational, and […]
Nesting ground report 2024 – 25
The “Nesting Grounds” program are weekly community arts workshops that emerged in response to participants’ requests for more sustainable, long-term arts programming that supports well-being in a non-threatening and destigmatizing way. Participants shared that arts programs supported their mental health and sense of connection, while expressing a need for ongoing opportunities beyond short-term workshops. Learn […]
Project glossary
The HEAL glossary is a practical resource for service providers and researchers working with newcomer survivors of gender-based and domestic violence. It provides accessible and culturally responsive definitions of key terms including implementation research, expressive arts therapy, mental health, and trauma-informed care in contexts where expressive arts support healing. This glossary is designed to foster […]