Almost eight out of 10 requests for shelter at Jessie’s House have been denied this year because of lack of space — a trend advocates say reflects a province-wide problem with women’s shelters.
The Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters published a report Dec. 7 on the use of domestic violence shelters in Alberta from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022. The council is a network of about 50 domestic violence shelters in Alberta.
The report found that 7,620 people were granted admission to Alberta’s shelters in the last year, representing about 16.6 per cent of the requests received. Some 11,546 requests were denied due to lack of shelter space, with another 7,570 denied for other reasons (such as staffing shortages).
Marla Poelzer, executive director for the Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation, said their Jessie’s House shelter in Morinville could only grant 329 of the 1,500 shelter requests it received from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30 this year because it didn’t have space for more people. That means about eight out of every 10 requests were denied.
“For 136 days out of this year we were at 100 per cent capacity,” she said, with the shelter 87 per cent full on average so far this year. (The shelter has space for 35 people.)
Clients turned away from shelters often end up sleeping in cars or staying with their abusers, said Jan Reimer, executive director for the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters. Those clients are often in great danger: some 72 per cent of clients in emergency shelters who completed danger assessments were judged to be at severe or extreme risk of being killed by their partner or ex-partner, the report found.
“When women are reaching out for help and they come to a shelter, they need the safety, and it’s important they get that,” Reimer said.
Financial pressures
Reiner said demand for domestic violence shelters has roared back as pandemic health restrictions have lifted, driven in part by the mental and financial problems caused by the pandemic. Opioid addiction and high food costs have also increased demand.
Reiner said the main reason for the current space shortage is stagnant provincial funding for shelters. With no change in funding since 2013, shelters today struggle to retain staff and cover costs amidst rampant inflation.
“We had one of our members report that their food bill went from $6,000 (pre-pandemic) to $60,000 (today),” Reiner said.
Sturgeon County council agreed to give Jessie’s House $10,000 a year for five years in its most recent budget. Mayor Alanna Hnatiw said this cash is meant to give the shelter more flexibility to do its work.
Prevention matters
“Prevention is where we need to be investing as well,” Hnatiw said, as simply building more shelters won't solve the space crunch.
Hnatiw said all levels of government should chip in to support family counselling and address the roots of domestic violence, as doing so is far cheaper than having police and hospitals deal with its consequences.
The report found that police-reported domestic violence cost Albertans some $1.14 billion in 2019.
Reimer said the Leading Change program works to teach schools, communities, businesses, and junior hockey teams how to recognize and stop domestic violence. Still, there are systemic causes for domestic violence such as a lack of affordable housing or basic income which shelters can't address.
“Domestic violence doesn’t stay at home,” Reimer noted.
The report can be found at acws.ca/library.
