THE GREEN LINE
ORIGINAL STORY
How one shelter in Palmerston-Little Italy is teaching unhoused women creative employment skills
The Green Line team visited Spun Studio to learn how its textile program helps unhoused women improve their mental health while gaining additional income from their artwork.
Trishawna Lindo, a participant at Spun Studio, holds a crocheted skirt on a rack of finished pieces.
: Mary Newman/The Green Line.
AMANDA SERAPHINA JAMES RAJAKUMAR
Indian immigrant with a post-grad in journalism from Centennial College. Now living in Grange Park, meeting new people, and hearing different stories. Has four names, so it’s a pick-your-player situation.
MARY NEWMAN
British-Canadian journalist with a decade’s experience producing for the BBC and CBC. Hails from Robin Hood country so naturally hates wealth inequality and loves organized labour. Now resides in the dog paradise of Roncesvalles.
Oct. 17, 2025
How to use art to help unhoused people:
- Partner with local shelters and drop-ins to run textile programs for unhoused people.
- Use available space at shelters or local community centres.
- Reach out to residents and local non-profits to donate fabrics, thread, sewing machines and more.
- Apply for grants from charities like Toronto Foundation, as well as the City of Toronto.
- Teach skills like knitting, crocheting and sewing that are both therapeutic and can be used to earn additional income.
Addressing homelessness goes beyond providing a roof over one’s head.
It needs a holistic approach, including affordable housing, employment training and mental well-being support, according to people who have experienced homelessness.
So, one group in Palmerston-Little Italy is helping unhoused women and gender-diverse people find a creative outlet while also making a buck out of their creations.
Participants at Spun Studio work on their individual pieces at 789 Dovercourt Rd.
: Amanda Seraphina/The Green Line.
Homelessness is currently on the rise in Toronto. The City's 2024 Street Needs Assessment found that there are over 15,400 unhoused individuals.
Ninety per cent of respondents surveyed for the report said multiple supports, including affordable housing, higher social assistance rates and employment training are needed to end the cycle of homelessness.
Volletta Peters, a doctor in philosophy in community, public and population health, is the executive director of Sistering, a multi-service agency for unhoused women and gender-diverse people. She says it's important for unhoused people to continue to have access to employment opportunities — whether through internal opportunities at shelters and support services or getting connected to an employment counsellor — so that they can stay motivated.
"When individuals become homeless, they lose their jobs. And so it's a chicken or an egg situation. Many employers don't want to employ individuals who are unhoused or homeless. Further to that, if an individual lacks a safe place to sleep, to get up in the morning, to take a shower, then accessing employment becomes more challenging."
Volletta Peters, executive director of Sistering, and Julie Dumaresq-Turgeon, social enterprise associate at Spun Studio, talk to a participant in the studio.
: Rob Ramlackhan for The Green Line.
So, Sistering launched Spun Studio, an innovative textile program that helps unhoused women and gender-diverse people earn additional income in a creative, collaborative and healing environment. Participants learn to sew, knit and crochet while also building self-esteem and community.
The finished artwork is then sold outside Sistering every Saturday.
Julie Dumaresq-Turgeon, social enterprise associate at Spun Studio, sits outside Sistering at 962 Bloor St. W. to sell the artwork made by participants at Spun Studio.
: Amanda Seraphina/The Green Line.
Julie Dumaresq-Turgeon, a social enterprise associate at Spun Studio, says the social aspect of the studio is crucial as participants leave their trauma behind and build community.
"Sometimes you don't think you're going to be creative or feel that way the morning of, but once you come to the studio, it's kind of magical because it's contagious. You sit with people, you share a nice meal, you offer some material and there you go. That's where the beauty of it all happens, like at Spun Studio.”
A 2021 Pan-Canadian survey on women's housing and homelessness found that one in four women experienced homelessness before the age of 16, followed by a cycle of precarious housing.
Additionally, over 75 per cent of women and gender-diverse people reported being survivors of trauma or abuse.
Trishawna Lindo, participant at Spun Studio, stands inside the studio space at 789 Dovercourt Rd.
: Mary Newman/The Green Line.
Trishawna Lindo, a participant at Spun Studio since summer 2023, says her fond memories of the studio are of laughter, going out for group lunches and other participants sharing their languages and memorabilia from home.
“I was hospitalized for a long time, and the social workers in the hospital told me, 'Well, you can go to a shelter or you can go to a drop-in. And if you go to Sistering, you have to sleep on the floor, but they have wonderful staff,’ and so I opted to go to Sistering. It was a life-changing experience for me. I was homeless for a year and a half, and within that span of time, I grew a lot. Sue and Julie really helped me to gain housing, to find my own skill sets [and] to work on growth.”
Spun Studio hopes to continue diversifying its art programming and is on the lookout to collaborate with other shelters and organizations across the city.
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