Aunt Leah’s House: Helping Families Stay Together and Thrive

Funding provided through Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy.

Located in Burnaby, British Columbia, Aunt Leah's House is helping prevent homelessness and family separation in the community with a goal of building brighter futures for mothers and their children.

Since the organization's beginnings over 30 years ago, Aunt Leah's recognized the important role that housing plays in the lives of young mothers. As such, Aunt Leah’s House first opened its doors in the 1980s to provide housing and support services to new mothers at risk of losing custody of their children. As the first property in Aunt Leah's portfolio, it has been a safe homebase for young mothers for years. However, in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the aging home required many repairs and the maintenance costs increased to the point where this important safe and nurturing environment was no longer able to operate.

Thanks to multiple sources of funding, including federal funding, Aunt Leah’s House was expanded and rebuilt in 2023 and has been able to continue to provide support and services to mothers and their children in the Metro Vancouver area ever since.

The new home includes four bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms, a large fully equipped kitchen, a common living area, fenced-in private yard, and an office space. The house also includes a self-contained suite on the second level designed for mothers ready to take the next step toward independence.

Aunt Leah’s House’s success is evident in the lives it has transformed—keeping families together and providing them with the tools for a stable future. Women who are at risk of losing custody of their children find new hope and the opportunity to succeed here. Aunt Leah's House is crucial for protecting vulnerable women and children, helping them build brighter, more stable futures. Because every family deserves a chance to stay together and thrive. With support from the Government of Canada, Aunt Leah's House can continue to make that happen.

Quick facts:

• Reaching Home supports the goals of the National Housing Strategy which recognizes that safe and affordable housing is at the heart of every strong community.
• For over 30 years, Aunt Leah’s has helped young mothers and children in foster care achieve a better future by providing guidance, supportive housing, and coaching on essential life skills.
• Aunt Leah’s often provides the only thread of care and continuity for youth whose lives are marked by abuse, neglect, abandonment and multiple foster home placements.
• Aunt Leah’s has seen great results, proving that support at a critical time can help young people realize their potential while becoming resilient, independent adults.

For more information, visit:

• Aunt Leah’s: Grand Re-Opening of Aunt Leah’s House
• Aunt Leah’s
• Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy
• National Housing Strategy