Just months after Royal Wood performed at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough as part of his tour earlier this year, the Juno-nominated musician is making his way back to downtown Peterborough — this time in support of giving a home to seven local women with developmental disabilities.
Born and raised in Lakefield, the singer-songwriter will be headlining a benefit concert at 7 p.m. on Monday, November 23 for Our Daughters’ Home: Supportive Housing for Special Needs Women. Tickets are priced at $55 plus fees.
Our Daughters’ Home is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a safe, permanent, and supportive home for adult women living with developmental disabilities in Peterborough and surrounding areas.
Led by Jane Bischoff, the organization was founded by parents in 2023 because there were limited homing options for their adult daughters who are unable to live on their own. Currently in Ontario, there are over 28,000 adults with developmental disabilities waiting for supportive housing and only six per cent will receive it.
“It’s a growing demographic and throughout Ontario, the waitlist is over 10 to 20 years to get your son or daughter in a home, and if you actually are able to get them in a home, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be around here (Peterborough),” Bischoff says.
“As soon as I started phoning some of the government offices, I saw that there is nothing out there — you pretty much have to create it for yourself.”
What makes Our Daughters’ Home unique is that it’s entirely led by parents, and other communities are following in their example. Bischoff has been running a monthly online meeting inviting parents from across Ontario to learn and gain support as they create similar organizations.
“It’s precedent-setting,” Bischoff says. “I think the province is taking note of us, and we may be an example or template for others. What we’re doing is getting known in the community.”
In July 2025, Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawarthas Region (Habitat PKR) held a ground-breaking ceremony at a vacant lot on Sophia Street in East City where an accessible duplex will be built for the seven women with developmental disabilities. More than a year later, the design for the eight-room home has now been formally submitted to the City of Peterborough for approval, with construction on track to begin in spring 2027.
Bischoff says the mortgage to buy the home from Habitat PKR will be around $900,000, and additional funds will be needed to provide 24/7 care to the women. Our Daughters’ Home is aiming to raise as much as possible for the downpayment, with the current goal being to raise $250,000.
To make a dent in the fundraiser, Bischoff is hoping to sell out Market Hall for the November 23 benefit concert featuring Royal Wood, a celebrated independent artist in Canada. With three albums debuting in the Top 30, he has earned multiple Juno Award nominations and five Canadian Folk Music Award nominations.
With more than 30 million streams and as a frequent playlist feature on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, Wood’s work has been featured in numerous high-profile TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. He has headlined live performances at venues like Massey Hall in Toronto, and toured with acclaimed artists including Bonnie Raitt and David Gray.
VIDEO: “A Good Day” – Royal Wood (2025)
Earlier this year, Wood performed at the Market Hall, joined by indie folk duo Fortunate Ones, for his “Have a Heart Tour” supporting his ninth studio album Dear John, which came out in 2025.
A musical letter to his younger self (his full name is John Royal Wood Nicholson), the album represented a return to music after taking five years away to spend time with his wife and two sons, while moving from Ontario to Saskatchewan. Last year, he told CBC Radio the album reignited his love for music and rumour has it he’s now working on a Christmas album.
Supporting Royal Wood at the benefit concert will be Ollie Mae, a 17-year-old singer-songwriter from the Kawarthas. She is a recording and mixing engineer at Treblecock Studio in Peterborough and has been working on her self-produced first album this year. Recognizable from August’s Peterborough Folk Festival, Mae takes heavy inspiration from the 1990s Halifax scene, with her sound ranging from introspective folk to the gritty.
Throughout the benefit concert, there will be brochures distributed and presentations to introduce audiences to Our Daughters’ Home.
“We’re chugging along and if you can’t come to the concert yourself, share it with friends or relatives that you think might come,” says Bischoff. “It should be a fun night and I hope we get a good turnout.”
Tickets to the benefit concert are available by calling the Market Hall box office at 705-749-1146 or online at tixr.com/groups/markethall/daughter. To learn more about Our Daughters’ Home or to donate, visit www.ourdaughtershome.ca.
