Thousands of women and children were turned away from Alberta women’s shelters last year, according to a new report from the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters.
The ACWS – the provincial network organization of domestic violence shelters in Alberta – on Wednesday released its annual report of shelter experiences in the province from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022.
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Women’s shelters in Alberta are still being forced to turn people away despite reduced calls in pandemic
The data found that shelters received 65,390 calls for support during that time. Of those calls, 25,530 were calls to request admission to a shelter. However, the ACWS said only 16.6 percent of those calls resulted in the shelter being able to provide access to the caller.
The ACWS said 11,546 requests for admission were by women and seniors who had to be turned away due to shelter being physically able. More than 6,200 children would have accompanied these women and seniors, according to the ACWS.
The ACWS said turns occur when shelter staff are unable to accommodate people because the shelter is full, the shelter does not have enough staff to support them or because the shelter does not have the resources to safely meet the complex needs of the to provide people.
Many people who are turned away from shelters have limited or no other place to live. Many people who seek shelter at a shelter will end up in cars, sleeping on the streets, temporarily staying with family or friends, or eventually returning to their abuser.
The ACWS said this demonstrates the critical need for safe and affordable housing options in Alberta.
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The organization is also calling for appropriate funding for women’s shelters across Alberta.
“There is a staffing crisis in the shelter sector generated by stagnant wages that are significantly below market value, and staff attrition, as they have provided an essential service throughout the pandemic,” the ACWS said in its report released on Wednesday.
“Stagnant funding contributes to high turnover and hinders staff recruitment.”
The ACWS said inflation has put extra pressure on shelters, which has been accompanied by a drop in donations for many ACWS members.
“Currently, shelters in some communities are unfunded and must fundraise for all of their operating costs,” the ACWS said. “Shelters need appropriate funding to be able to recruit and retain qualified staff. This is essential to their ability to meet the needs of the people who need help.”
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For people waiting for a place in a shelter, the ACWS said single survivors spent an average of six months on the waiting list. Survivors with children spent about a month and a half on a waiting list. The ACWS said the most common factors contributing to waiting lists are a lack of shelter capacity and a lack of an available apartment with the number of bedrooms the survivor needs due to their family size.
The majority of women and children admitted to emergency shelters were at ‘serious or extreme risk’ of being killed
During the same time frame from April 2021 to March 2022, the ACWS admitted 6,989 people to emergency shelters in Alberta. That’s up slightly from the previous year’s data, which showed women’s shelters in Alberta housed 6,233 people between April 2020 and March 2021.
Of the survivors who completed risk assessments in emergency shelters, 72 percent said they were at serious or extreme risk of being killed by their partner or ex-partner.
Of those who completed the voluntary assessment, 52 percent said they believed their partner was capable of killing them, 39 percent said their partner threatened to kill them, 38 percent said their partner forced them to having sex and 35 percent said their partner strangled them.
Each year, the ACWS compiles and analyzes the data provided by its 39 members who operate more than 50 shelters across the province.
Of the people served by the ACWS, 98.5 percent are women.
Anyone at risk or experiencing domestic violence can reach the Domestic Violence Information Line 24 hours a day at 310-1818.
The Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters also has a map of shelters across the province for anyone who needs support.
Additional support for domestic violence is also available online.
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
