Aboriginal Shelters of Ontario (ASOO) – Our Origin Story
In 2010, Leaders from Indigenous and allied non-Indigenous shelters in Ontario got together for a joint meeting to discuss shared issues. The main conversations centered around Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, how alone the Leaders felt, and how disconnected Shelters were from one another. All attendees agreed that an organization, association, or formal body should be created to help them work together and hold each other up.
The leaders gathered a second time and decided to develop an incorporated organization. AboThe primaryriginal Shelters of Ontario was born in 2011 with the inagural Leaders vowing to operate from a place of openness, transparency, and honesty, respecting interconnectedness while valuing the diversity of traditional teachings across Ontario.
Today, Aboriginal Shelters of Ontario (ASOO) has over 75 members and associate members. These Leaders demonstrate ongoing commitment to Indigenous family violence shelters through the co-creation of innovative and progressive initiatives. The primary activities of ASOO are:
- Identify and understand Family Violence issues impacting Indigenous communities.
- Identify and deelop strategies that address Indigenous Family Violence initiatives.
- Monitor and collect data on Indigenous Familoy Violence trends. Further, to communicate Indigenous Family Violence trends and issues.
- Facilitate quality training to member shelters and other organizations who are workng towards ending violence in our communities.
The Aboriginal Shelters of Ontario (ASOO) was formed in 2012 to provide a collective voice for Aboriginal shelters in Ontario as they respond to family violence in Aboriginal communities.