What is Shelter Pulse?
Shelter Pulse is a project partnership between the Rural Development Network (RDN) and Mountain Rose Centre (MRC) to develop a centralized online database of feminist, trauma-informed policies for rural women’s shelters across Canada. Women’s shelters based in rural and remote communities struggle with organizational capacity due to limited budgets, inadequate staffing, and increased community dependency when compared to urban or larger communities. Administrative work like updating shelter policies often takes a back seat to address more urgent issues such as staffing, safety, and client care.
The goal of Shelter Pulse is to increase rural women’s shelter capacity by providing them with free, easy to access, standardized shelter policies. The policy database will contain policies applicable across Canada, and allow customization to meet the unique needs of each community.
This project is funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada’s Feminist Response and Recovery Fund. The opinions and interpretations on this website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada.
About the Database
The Shelter Pulse Policy Database represents a collaborative effort by the Rural Development Network team, Mountain Rose Women’s Shelter Association, Taproot Strategies, and rural shelter partners throughout Canada. It offers a comprehensive collection of policies in a searchable format. This platform enables women’s shelters across Canada to locate, download, edit, and compile specific policies into a complete manual directly on the website.