Jamie Pfau and Kevin Pfau, a couple and University of Manitoba students, are taking the lessons they learned in their social work program to support local survivors of domestic violence and youth aging out of foster care with a new initiative – Peace for All of Us.
The students have been renting out two condo units to house female victims of domestic violence and former foster care residents in Winnipeg since January.
The couple met while studying criminal justice at Lethbridge College in Lethbridge, Alta., and their shared passion for wanting to help others led them to study social work at U of M.
Kevin Pfau’s cancer diagnosis in summer 2019 served as a “wake-up call” for the couple to act quickly on their dreams of helping their community.
While Jamie Pfau was working on her master of social work and Kevin Pfau on his bachelor of social work at U of M, the couple learned about the dangers that female victims of domestic violence experience and the most effective strategies to provide help for survivors.
The Pfaus decided to lend a helping hand by providing affordable “third-stage housing,” an opportunity for those experiencing domestic violence in Winnipeg to live free from violence and abuse.
“Our goal is obviously to have them become more independent, but we know that for now and for probably a while, they definitely need to recover from their situation and just have some homeostasis,” Kevin Pfau said.
Raising five foster children over the last 10 years, the Pfaus also wanted to help youth in their transition out of foster homes. When their eldest foster son turned 18, the couple couldn’t afford to get him his own place.
“I know that there’s lots of children in care who should be with their natural family and housing is a huge barrier,” Jamie Pfau said.
After consulting with Kendra Nixon, a U of M social work professor, the Pfaus purchased the two units in 2020 and had their first tenants by January this year.
Nixon is the Manitoba director of the prairie university-based Research and Education for Solutions to Violence and Abuse (RESOLVE), a research network that aims to reduce family and gender-based violence.
She said Pfau’s initiative provides a long-term alternative for victims of domestic violence from emergency shelters and transitional houses, which often limit how long people can stay.
“It becomes their home and there’s a sense of security and safety in that, so that’s really important and [also] quite rare,” Nixon said.
Of the two units, one currently houses a survivor with her two children but can accommodate up to four children. The other unit houses two independent teenagers aging out of care.
A domestic violence support worker is currently assisting the family living in the first unit, while an independent-living support worker is helping the two youth.
The couple said finding affordable housing in Winnipeg to accommodate multiple children is challenging. “Once children turn a certain age, they have to have independent bedrooms, so that’s a huge hurdle for [mothers],” Kevin Pfau said.
The Pfaus said they hope to help survivors in a way that protects their dignity while they re-establish themselves and look for work, such as by aiding them in their job searches.
“Lots of these women are fully capable and want to do that genuinely,” Jamie Pfau said. “They just need a break. They just need to hit pause and recover.”
Community partnerships
The couple is partnered with Oyate Tipi Cumini Yape, a non-profit furniture bank in Winnipeg’s north end.
Alexandra Beasse, executive director of Oyate Tipi, said the non-profit has a reciprocal relationship with the Pfaus. Oyate Tipi helps them furnish their units and in return, takes excess furniture donations they receive to give to other vulnerable women and youth in need.
“Sometimes all it takes is someone who is generous, whether it’s an individual or an organization … who comes in and says ‘we are going to help out. We are going to give you that second chance because you are deserving just [because of] the fact that you’re a human being,’” Beasse said.
The Pfaus are also partnered with Build Inc., a non-profit construction agency hiring only Indigenous individuals and people with criminal records. They have been helped by Heather Styles Homes, a certified home-staging and interior re-designer company.
“We’re not just your landlord. We’re also here to support you in any way,” Kevin Pfau said.
In January, the Pfaus began a GoFundMe fundraiser which has raised over $2,750 to support the maintenance of their current units and help them save up for a third unit.
“I just think it’s so exciting to see other human beings giving a hand up, not a hand out,” Beasse said.
Jamie and Kevin Pfau both said they hope to see other people start similar initiatives to help vulnerable women and youth and promote their new concept of “third-stage housing.”
“This project has brought us more happiness and a sense of purpose,” Jamie Pfau said. “When you can provide this to people, I wouldn’t trade it for money in a second.”
Featured graphic by Sara Mizannojehdehi.
