Hope & Recovery Toolkit: Essential Practices to Support Women Experiencing Substance Use & Gender-Based Violence

The Jean Tweed Centre is proud to share the Hope & Recovery Toolkit: Essential Practices to Support Women Experiencing Substance Use & Gender-Based Violence, a practical resource designed to help service providers better support women experiencing the complex and often interconnected impacts of gender-based violence (GBV) and substance use.

Developed through funding support from the Government of Ontario and informed by the expertise of service providers and women with lived experience, the toolkit offers evidence-informed guidance, promising practices, screening considerations, safety planning approaches, and practical tools to strengthen service delivery.

Recognizing that GBV and substance use frequently occur together, this resource promotes trauma-informed, gender-responsive, and integrated approaches to care. Whether working in healthcare, housing, mental health, substance use treatment, child and family services, justice, or community support settings, service providers will find actionable strategies to help women access safer, more responsive, and more coordinated care.

Download the Hope & Recovery Toolkit below or browse chapter by chapter and join us in strengthening support for women on their journey toward safety, healing, and recovery.