The first National Conference of Women's Shelters gets underway today in Ottawa, bringing together shelters from all across Canada.

Executive Director for Rowan House, Sherrie Botten, says it's a great opportunity to communicate with other shelters and share ideas.

" This is the first opportunity to meet together with all other Canadian shelters, to have an opportunity to share best practices from different parts of the country and talk about issues at more of a political level," she said.

The conference is the first of its kind in Canada, providing the opportunity for crisis and transitional housing staff to come together and continue to make a difference for women and children affected by domestic violence.

Botten says it's exciting to be part of the event, as they move toward a National Action Plan.

" We're really excited about what we're going to talk about in terms of ending violence against women, we're advocating for a National Action Plan and there's a lot of political work being done," said Botten.

Botten will be sharing a presentation on trauma informed practice, while other presentations by rowan house will include the children's programming and transitional housing.

Botten arrived in ottawa one day early, to participate in "hill" day, which included meetings with several politicians and policy advisors.

" We shared with them what we're seeing, so they can really get an understanding. we're talking to MP's who are in several different departments that impact women," she said.

The conference runs today through Friday, involving 14 provincial and territorial shelter organizations and represents 400 shelters across Canada.

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