A new online policy database aims to build capacity for rural women’s shelters in Canada.
The Shelter Pulse project is a collaboration between Rural Development Network (RDN) and the Mountain Rose Centre in Rocky Mountain House which will create a centralized bank of shelter policies. Shelters and family violence services in rural areas are often resource-strapped, and the database will allow users to search and download current policy documents without having to take staff away from front-line work to update and develop their own policies.
“It was really a project born out of community need for an increased policy capacity, and more so with a specific focus on trauma-informed and feminist-based lenses,” said Mary McGuire, project manager with RDN.
Throughout the violence against women sector, administrative capacity is stretched thin because staff are constantly being pulled away to deal with urgent crises and front-line work, which makes it hard to stay current with best practices, processes, and language that should be used, McGuire said. These challenges are “more magnified within a rural context” where staff must cope with additional barriers to delivery of care and services.
“Typically, they're working on significantly smaller budgets, and very competitive funding in comparison to urban spaces. They also have limited shelter space and less staff,” McGuire said.
“They don't have capacity for that administrative work. And it is always kind of taking a backseat to the client care.”
Shelter Pulse partnered with organizations across Canada, and so far, has over 70 policies that have been improved or developed in its database. These documents could fill gaps for shelters which are either lacking policies, or “because they can't pay special attention to them all the time, they might be outdated,” she said.
“And a lot of them might not have specific lenses, because of that, around cultural safety, reconciliation, or maybe a more specific focus on being trauma-informed.”
The project is currently moving into the piloting, feedback, and testing phase, and a full public release is expected in February 2024. When finished, users will be able to “online shop” for documents on the Shelter Pulse website by searching for specific policy areas. The policies are applicable across Canada, but allow users to customize as required to suit the specific needs of their community or adapt to regional legislation.
Through their research and feedback from rural shelters, some gaps were identified that led to development of newer policies, McGuire said.
“Something that can be an issue in rural spaces is the duality of relationships. If somebody's accessing a shelter or supports in a rural community, it's very possible that the person providing them with that support, or doing the intake is someone they know,” she said.
In urban centres, staff could more easily hand that person off to another worker or direct them to a different organization, options usually not available in rural communities. “There are some complexities around rural spaces with privacy in mind,” that these policies address, McGuire said.
