Founded in 1994, Sheena’s Place (formally known as the Hospice for Eating Disorders of Toronto) helps people affected by eating disorders through professionally-run support groups. Sheena’s Place works to inspire hope, reduce stigma, raise awareness, and offer help and information to people over the age of 17 affected by eating disorders, during all stages of recovery. Sheena’s Place reports that an estimated 2.7 million Canadians (9% of the population) live with an eating disorder. Eating disorders are the second most fatal mental illness, falling just behind opioid overdose.

Sheena's Place runs a non-residential center in downtown Toronto that hosts programs in a community-based, non-medical setting. Its clients are self-referred and do not require a formal diagnosis to participate in programs. Sheena's Place has five major programs offered at no cost to participants, including: Support Groups; Expressive Arts Groups; Skill-Building Groups; Body Image and Movement Groups; and Nutrition Groups. In F2020, Sheena’s Place had a total of 879 group participants, and provided 1,214 hours of therapeutic services. 

Support Groups: Sheena's Place reported that Support Groups comprised 46% of programs offered in F2020. These groups are guided by a professional and offer people with eating disorders, as well as their families, friends, and partners, the chance to share their stories and help each other in an informal setting. In F2020, Sheena's Place added three new support groups, including a Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) group, a recovery group, and a disabled and chronically ill group. Sheena's Place also notes shifting to online support groups to accommodate the covid-19 pandemic. During the peak of the pandemic, 19 weekly support groups were held online.

Expressive Arts Groups: In F2020, Expressive Arts Groups accounted for 16% of support services offered at Sheena's Place. Expressive Arts Groups help participants express their feelings and release difficult emotions through painting/drawing, writing, and musical activities such as singing or playing an instrument.

Skill-Building Groups: These groups made up 15% of programs offered in F2020. Skill-Building Groups educate participants about techniques to cope with feelings, reduce self-harm, and change circumstances that affect healthy living.

Body Image and Movement; and Nutrition Groups: These two categories of support services composed 14% and 9% of programs offered respectively. Body Image Groups use techniques such as gentle physical movement and exploration of feelings and perceptions to heighten awareness about the connection between mind and body, and help clients better manage stresses of daily life. Nutrition Groups focus on increasing participants' comfort in the kitchen, as well as teaching cooking and food preparation skills.

Sheena’s Place had total donations and special events revenues of $2.7m in F2020. Administrative costs are 6% of revenues (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are 4% of donations. For every dollar donated to the charity, 90 cents go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

Net funding reserves total $5.7m in F2020 (up from $3.6m in F2019), of which $2.7m are held in an externally-restricted endowment fund. Excluding donor-endowed funds, the charity’s reserves can cover annual program costs for about 8.6 years.  

This report is an update that was sent to Sheena’s Place for review. Comments and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on July 6, 2021 by Rachel Leteta.