A non-profit is creating a wider safety net for women and children escaping domestic violence in the Fraser Valley.

CIVL spoke to Jennifer Breakspear, the executive director of Sara for Women, a "feminist non-profit society providing safe refuge and community-based resources for women in Mission and Abbotsford," about the organization's mandate.

Sara For Women started out as a non-profit that provides transitional housing for women and children fleeing domestic violence (and still offers those services), but Breakspear said they have "broadened" their mandate to support "women to live free from violence," including women who live on or close to the street.

Breakspear says the women escaping volatile relationships can come and stay at the organization's transitional housing for up to 30 days. She said there are three transitional houses in the Fraser Valley, one in Mission and two in Abbotsford. Each transitional house has staff that help women with a range of issues from finding a place to live, to help find a new career. Breakspear says if women qualify, they can live in the organization's second-tier housing for up to 18 months.

Here is the second part of a two part interview with Jennifer Breakspear: