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History

History of the Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation

We’re proud to be rooted in and supported by community. 

In January 2012, family, friends and community came together to establish a fund, in memory of Jessica Martel, a young mom murdered by her spouse on April 29, 2009. Co-founded by Lynne Rosychuk, Jessica’s mother, the Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation (JMMF) set out to raise money to address a nation-wide shortage of emergency shelter beds. Soon after they set to work, community members living in dire circumstances reached out for immediate support. To meet the growing needs, the JMMF developed Outreach and Education programs to increase safety and supports for individuals and families navigating abuse. By September 2018, we broke ground on Jessie’s House, the Sturgeon Region’s first emergency shelter, on land gifted by the Town of Morinville.

Jessie’s House, a 35-bed emergency shelter opened to serve the community on May 19, 2020. Proudly funded almost exclusively through fundraising, corporate donations and individual gifts, it is only one of a handful of Canadian emergency shelters serving individuals of any age or gender, and large families. 

More than just a bed, Jessie’s House provides a broad range of services including family violence outreach, case management and court support.  Built to accommodate even the largest families, we are committed to providing specialized supports for children who’ve lived through the trauma of abuse.  As a trauma-informed shelter, we meet residents where they are, reducing as many barriers to support as possible.   Our person-centred approach promotes healing and empowers individuals to break free from domestic abuse, permanently.

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Shelter Intake/ Crisis Line(24/7)
Fundraising & Volunteers
  • 780-939-2870
  • info@jmmf.ca
  • The Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation Box 3167 Morinville, AB T8R 1S1
Outreach
Program

The Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation acknowledges the traditional lands upon which we live, work, and play. We are located on Treaty 6 land, and we wish to thank the Cree, Blackfoot, Assiniboine, Dene, Iroquois, Inuit, and many other nations who have gathered on these lands for thousands of years. We also thank the Métis people of the North Saskatchewan River Territory and Western Canada.

This land has been welcoming guests for tens of thousands of years. We wish to acknowledge the many migrants who have made Canada their home. Many of these migrants are also Indigenous to their home countries and have also been colonized for hundreds of years. This legacy of colonization has left Indigenous peoples impoverished as the colonizers took away land and extracted rich resources. These migrants had to leave their countries to seek a better life for their families.

We recognize that all Albertans are Treaty people and have a responsibility to understand our history so that we can honor the past, be aware of the present, and create a just and caring future. We celebrate and value the resiliency, successes, and teachings that Alberta’s Indigenous people have shown us. We honour the legacy of colonization and its impacts on Indigenous Albertans and newcomers. Most of all, we are grateful to the Indigenous people of Alberta for sharing their land with us and blessing us with its abundance.

Copyright © 2025 Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation