Monroe House
Organization profile published 1982

Year Published:  1982
Resource Type:  Organization
Cx Number:  CX2634

Abstract: 
When it opened in 1979 MUNROE HOUSE was Canada's first "second stage" house for battered women and their children. The concept was developed because of the concerns of transition house workers, who believed that many women were "forced" to return to a battering situation because a lack of alternatives. The time limit set in most transition houses is often insufficient to address the range of complexity of problems faced by a batterred woman.

MUNROE HOUSE is operated by the Department of Support Services of the Vancouver YWCA and funded by the B.C. Ministry of Human Resources. Located in a residential neighbourhood, it consists of six self-contained units, with a total of 21 beds. Two staff act as co-managers and work out of an office located in the HOUSE. There are no live-in staff; one co-manager is on call after hours and on weekends. An Advisory Committee, made up of representatives from the YWCA, the Ministry of Human Resources, area transition houses, and co-managers, is responsible for policy, guidelines, and staffing. Since 1979 sixty families, all referred by the six area transition houses, have stayed in MUNROE HOUSE for periods of up to six months.

In December 1980, the Women's Research Centre (301-2515 Burrard St. Vancouver, B.C. V6J 3J6) published "A Review of Munroe House: Second Stage Housing for Battered Women." The purpose of this research was to:
(i) document and analyse how Munroe House meets the needs of its residents; and
(ii) build an understanding of the concept of second stage housing by providing a description of Munroe
House, for the benefit of organizations and individuals involved in working with battered women.

The method used in the research includes an evaluaiton process for ongoing use by the Advisory Committee of MUNROE HOUSE.

This abstract was published in the Connexions Digest in 1982.