About Us

The Need for La Salle

Unique.
La Salle is Edmonton's only long-term 'safe house' for mothers and children who are victims of abuse.

Needed.
There is an acute shortage of programs for family abuse victims in the Edmonton area. Without La Salle, nearly all of our residents would have no option but to return to the original abusive situation.

Effective.
Since 1988, the program has helped more than 200 women and 350 children rebuild their lives. Not one family has returned to the violent situation that drove them out of their homes in the first place.

La Salle was opened in 1988 by the Sisters of Charity (Grey Nuns) of Alberta. The residence is overseen by a community-based volunteer Board of Directors. La Salle is a 'safe house' where up to nine women and their children can live for as long as a year in a supportive, supervised apartment setting.

Counselors help them re-orient themselves and plan their futures. Programs of various kinds enrich their lives, help them and their children mature, give them access to workplace skill development, and help them become progressively more independent. When they head out on their own, our social worker follows up with them for six months.