The Landing: A Space for Shared Healing and New Beginnings

The Landing: A Space for Shared Healing and New Beginnings

At WINGS, we know that safety is the first step, but it is community, connection, and dignity that help survivors of domestic violence truly heal. With potential support from the Field Law Community Fund, we hope to create The Landing, a warm and welcoming space where women and children at WINGS can gather, connect, and begin to rebuild their sense of belonging.

This shared space will serve all WINGS families as a trauma-informed family room designed for everyday connection. It will be used for movie nights, reading circles, birthday celebrations, parent-child play time, grief support groups, cultural holiday gatherings, and quiet moments of rest. Many of our families arrive at WINGS after experiencing years of isolation and fear. The Landing will offer something they have gone without for far too long: a place to simply be together, without judgement or danger.

The room will be equipped with soft seating, calming lighting, books and toys for children, art supplies, games, and sensory-informed furnishings. Designed with cultural safety, accessibility, and inclusivity in mind, The Landing will welcome families of all ages, backgrounds, and lived experiences.

This project fills a vital gap. While our housing offers private, secure apartments, there is currently no communal space available for families to engage in healing social connection. The Landing will change that. It will foster peer support, reduce isolation, and allow families to create joyful new memories together, which is a critical part of trauma recovery.

Help us transform an underused area into a sanctuary of hope and healing. It is more than just a room. It is a resting place for resilience, a space where safety becomes belonging, and where new beginnings take root.

The Landing will benefit women and children fleeing domestic violence who are living at WINGS' Second Stage Shelter and Supportive Housing in Edmonton.

Domestic violence does not discriminate. It impacts people of all backgrounds, ages, and communities. The families who come to WINGS are diverse in identity and experience, but all arrive with one shared goal, to find safety and begin again.

Families come to WINGS seeking stability after experiencing prolonged abuse, fear, and isolation. While our secure apartment units provide a critical foundation, healing also requires community, connection, and moments of joy. The Landing will fill a much-needed gap by offering a shared space for families to gather, relax, and experience togetherness.

This space will directly support:

• Children, by offering a safe and nurturing space to play, connect with peers, and engage in creative or soothing activities that support emotional development and healing.

• Mothers, by reducing isolation, supporting peer connection, and offering opportunities to bond with their children in a calm, welcoming environment.

• Families as a whole, by creating a setting for shared meals, movie nights, celebrations, and rituals that reinforce stability and a sense of normalcy after trauma.

All of the families we serve at WINGS are mothers with children who have experienced domestic violence. Many of these women are newcomers to Canada, Indigenous, or come from communities that have been historically marginalized. Many have also been impacted by intergenerational trauma, systemic inequities, or displacement..

By designing The Landing with cultural safety, accessibility, and inclusivity at its core, we are creating a space that reflects the rich diversity of the families we support. This space will honour different lived experiences while fostering connection, belonging, and mutual care.

In addition to our residents, the space will support WINGS staff in delivering group activities, parenting workshops, and special events. It may also become a space where trusted community partners can facilitate child and family programming.

By creating The Landing, we are responding to a clearly identified need from both families and frontline staff: a space for connection. Families healing from domestic violence need more than privacy and safety. They need a place to laugh, grieve, grow, and belong. This space will offer exactly that.