Wheels Of Change

Marc Hull-Jacquin helps families facing domestic violence move out and move on.

- Moira Farr

IT WAS EARLY IN 2017 when Nithya Caleb realized she had to leave her marriage. A recent immigrant from India, she no longer felt safe in her home, but with no family and few friends in Canada, there was no one close to turn to for help. Some acquaintances advised her to stay in the marriage, keep her problems private and make it work. When she could no longer do that, there was little sympathy. “My social circle abandoned me,” she says. “There was just silence.”

Caleb, 37, had a job in Toronto as an editor, but money was tight and the logistics of a solo move with her seven-year-old son impossible. Although she was able to find a suitable place to live, she couldn’t figure out how to secure her belongings: “I thought I would have to leave everything behind.” That’s when a social worker with the Children’s Aid Society told her about Shelter Movers, a non-profit that helps women and children exit abusive homes.