Elizabeth Fry Toronto

Elizabeth Fry Toronto We deliver gender based, trauma informed services for women & non binary people who are criminalized.

Elizabeth Fry Toronto, established in 1952, serves women who are, have been or are at risk of being in conflict with the criminal justice system. We provide transitional housing and community supports that are:

Women-centred: ensuring women and girls receive services and supports that respect their social, economic, physical and cultural realities and based on the assumption that women know their own realities best and are best served by models that acknowledges women’s differences from men. Gender-responsive: creating service models that reflect an understanding of the realities of the lives of women and girls and address and respond to their strengths and challenges. Anti-oppressive: implementing practices that acknowledge repression in societies, economies, cultures and groups and seeking to remove or negate the influence of such repression.

Many people carry the weight of past convictions long after their sentence is complete. 2,420 applications were accepted...
12/18/2025

Many people carry the weight of past convictions long after their sentence is complete.

2,420 applications were accepted in 2023–24 for summary (non-serious) offences.

Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/parole-board/corporate/transparency/reporting-to-canadians/record-suspension-program/record-suspension-report-to-parliament-2023-2024.html

If you want support navigating the process and reclaiming opportunities, Elizabeth Fry Toronto’s Record Suspension Program is here for you. We walk with you through every step and cover the application fee once submitted.

📩 recordsuspensions@efrytoronto.org

How folks can listen and participate on CBC's open line program Ontario Today: Ontario Today is the provincial open-line...
12/15/2025

How folks can listen and participate on CBC's open line program Ontario Today:

Ontario Today is the provincial open-line program on CBC Radio over the noon-hour. On Tuesday, December 16, we are talking about women and the justice system.
The recent investigation into women in custody that shows unprecedented overcrowding compelled them to ask "Women and the justice system: how's it working for you?"

📢If you want to share your story, you can call the program between 12 & 1pm (only) next Tuesday, December 16 at: 1-888-817-8995

📻Folks can listen to the program via CBC Radio in Ontario or online on the CBC Toronto website, just click on the play ▶️ arrow on the Live Radio link. At noon it will say "Ontario Today".

🔊You can also listen to it on their podcast site here: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-45-ontario-today

ElizabethFryToronto

Each year, our Elizabeth Fry team unites in support of the United Way Workplace Campaign. It’s more than a fundraiser—it...
12/15/2025

Each year, our Elizabeth Fry team unites in support of the United Way Workplace Campaign. It’s more than a fundraiser—it’s a meaningful opportunity to collaborate, build community, and contribute to an organization whose work directly enhances the impact we strive to make.

Our most marginalized populations will be the most impacted by cash bail, whether it’s someone escaping gender based vio...
12/12/2025

Our most marginalized populations will be the most impacted by cash bail, whether it’s someone escaping gender based violence or those who are unhoused.

Research consistently shows that community supports, such as housing, mental-health services, and culturally informed programs are more effective at reducing risk than tougher bail systems.

Check out this petition: https://www.change.org/p/say-no-to-cash-bail

EFryToronto

Our Executive Director Kelly Potvin participated as a panelist at the Toronto Forum on Criminalization and Survivorship:...
12/10/2025

Our Executive Director Kelly Potvin participated as a panelist at the Toronto Forum on Criminalization and Survivorship: Strengthening GBV-Sector Responses to Criminalization, Coercive Control, and Litigation Abuse in Canada.

Hosted by the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic, the event brought together leaders committed to advancing safety, justice, and meaningful support for survivors of gender-based violence. The event highlighted urgent gaps in Canada’s legal responses to GBV, and the need for survivor-centered solutions.

The Canadian legal system is not always a pathway to justice and too often fails to meet the complex realities and needs of those experiencing GBV.

We must all be dedicated to pushing for systemic change and survivor-centered approaches. Justice must be accessible to every survivor.

Honouring the human rights we were promised means confronting the inequalities that persist. Together, we can move close...
12/10/2025

Honouring the human rights we were promised means confronting the inequalities that persist. Together, we can move closer to a world where dignity and justice are lived realities.

created these handbooks to equip women and gender-diverse people in provincial and federal prisons with the tools and resources they need to understand, defend, and advocate for their rights while incarcerated. Explore and share the Human Rights in Action handbooks:
https://caefs.ca/news-campaigns/publications-and-resources/human-rights-in-action-handbooks/

🏠Housing insecurity is closely linked to experiences of gender-based violence. Ontario’s affordable housing crisis only ...
12/08/2025

🏠Housing insecurity is closely linked to experiences of gender-based violence. Ontario’s affordable housing crisis only deepens this risk.
🏢When housing is unaffordable and shelters are full, survivors are forced into unsafe living situations, or back to their abusers.
💜Our community needs affordable housing, not impossible choices that put them in danger.

Housing insecurity is also a GBV issue, not just an economic one.

Source: https://housingrightscanada.com/reports/nowhere-to-go-gender-based-violence-and-housing-insecurity-in-ontario/

Intimate Partner Violence, a type of gender based violence, impacts millions across Canada. Over 11 million people have ...
12/07/2025

Intimate Partner Violence, a type of gender based violence, impacts millions across Canada. Over 11 million people have experienced IPV since age 15. That includes 44% of all women.

For many communities, the rates are even more devastating:
🌈 LGBTQIA2S: 67%
🏵️ Indigenous women: 61%
🏠 Women living in poverty: 57%
♿ Women with disabilities: 55%

These numbers are more than statistics. They represent lives.

Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/women-gender-equality/gender-based-violence/facts-stats.html

On this National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, we reflect on lives lost and the harm still en...
12/06/2025

On this National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, we reflect on lives lost and the harm still endured by women, girls, and gender-diverse people across Canada.

Every person deserves safety, dignity, and support. We will not stop until there is an end to violence.

This session is a free, online event available for both alumni, current WEB program participants and interested entrepre...
12/04/2025

This session is a free, online event available for both alumni, current WEB program participants and interested entrepreneurs! Email mumasuthan@efrytoronto.org to RSVP!

When you’re running your own business, self-blame can kick in pretty easily. You wonder, “Why can’t I do this as quickly or as well as I should? What’s wrong with me?”

While self-care in the traditional sense doesn’t do any harm, the real work begins at a deeper level. All the bubble baths in the world can’t help you if your inner critic is coming for you from inside your own head

In this energetic and entertaining interactive keynote and workshop, Marsha will address the idea of the inner critic — what she calls “The Beast”. She will bring to the fore the thoughts that everyone is thinking but most people don’t dare share, showing you that they are not alone, and there is hope for feeling better.

You’ll learn:
1. How to differentiate when your inner critic is speaking from the actual truth
2. Why our brains do something that seems so counterproductive
3. The four simple steps that can help you tune out those thoughts, so you can get on with your day and (more importantly!) feel happier and more peaceful

With interactive and entertaining exercises, Marsha will walk you through her four step process to “Quiet the Beast,” giving you concrete tools and making you feel connected to each other and to your best self.

Marsha Shandur (of Yes Yes Marsha) believes that no one has to be crushed by the mean voice in their head. A Storytelling, Communication and Sales Coach and Trainer, she has taught thousands of executives, entrepreneurs and professionals across the world and has had rave reviews from clients like Meta, RBC, Shopify and HelloFresh. Before launching Yes Yes Marsha, she spent 15 years working as a Radio DJ, where she gained a powerful understanding of how to tell stories in a way that fosters connection, trust, engagement and loyalty. Her work has been featured in Forbes, BBC, the Toronto Star and Mashable.
Discover how to Be Unforgettable, transform the way you think about storytelling — and see Marsha in a LOT of wigs — at YesYesMarsha.com

Elizabeth Fry Toronto is proud to partner on the "Honouring Her Memory" event, commemorating the National Day of Remembr...
12/03/2025

Elizabeth Fry Toronto is proud to partner on the "Honouring Her Memory" event, commemorating the National Day of Remembrance and Action to Stop Violence Against Women.

Join us this Friday, December 5th from 6pm-8pm for an evening of learning, action and community connection.

Unfortunately, the symptoms of Brain Injuries are often mistaken for emotional distress caused by abuse, leading to misi...
12/03/2025

Unfortunately, the symptoms of Brain Injuries are often mistaken for emotional distress caused by abuse, leading to misinterpretation, misjudgment, and inadequate accommodations for those navigating supports, health care and the justice system.

Our Brain Injury Bail Court Navigators support women and non-binary individuals with BI Screening, communication between counsel/family, access community services/resources, educate clients on BI's, accompany to court appointments, court debriefs and more.

Source: https://braininjurycanada.ca/en/advocacy/intimate-partner-violence/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=16967050957&gbraid=0AAAAABYIfe0vxhZNjQnYD0Zx88zzVGFFT&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpoCZnOOckQMVCwutBh0b5wWqEAAYASAAEgIsOvD_BwE

Address

215 Wellesley Street East
Toronto, ON
M4X1G1

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

Website

http://twitter.com/efry_toronto

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