Advocates for women fleeing domestic violence in Perth County are raising red flags about the lack of affordable homes in the region after crisis calls to a Stratford-based emergency shelter and second stage housing provider shot up by nearly 1,000 last year.
Emergency phone lines operated by Optimism Place and the Emily Murphy Center were dialed 2,286 times in 2021, an increase from 1,343 the year before, according to new data from Stop Violence Against Women Perth County.
“It’s a big jump,” said StopVAW co-chair Emily Schurter, the violence against women co-ordinator at Family Services Perth Huron. “People are really strapped for resources, are really trying to find alternatives, and it’s really difficult to find housing right now.”
For the past several years, StopVAW has been gathering data from its member organizations, police, health-care providers, and other stakeholders for an annual breakdown of local domestic violence statistics. The group’s 2021 figures – referred to as a “snapshot” from January to December – were shared with the Beacon Herald this week, along with a report from Schurter and the group’s other co-chair, Hannah Skinner, a residential manager at Optimism Place.
After two years of sporadic pandemic-related lockdowns, it is likely that the gradual reduction of public-health restrictions in Ontario last year began to make it easier for domestic violence victims to reach out for help, Schurter said, but StopVAWs most recent data also highlight other factors that could have contributed to the rise in crisis calls.
“One of the issues made visible in this snapshot is a lack of affordable housing,” Schurter and Skinner wrote. “We know that many efforts have been underway in our community in support of solutions for homelessness and yet there is much to be done.”
According to their figures, 92 per cent of women experiencing homelessness in the region have also experienced domestic abuse.
“This means that the majority of women facing homelessness in Perth county right now are homeless because of violence and/or abuse,” the report said. “Front-line workers are seeing women who need to leave an abusive situation and have nowhere to turn.”
Space at both Optimism Place and the Emily Murphy Center is currently scarce.
Almost 300 women looking for emergency shelter at Optimism Place were turned away in 2021, up from 119 the year before. The waiting list for transitional housing at the Emily Murphy Centre, meanwhile, had grown to 62 from 38 in 2020.
Some of the women are provided access to a motel room and can apply for special priority status on Stratford’s social housing list, but there are no guarantees space is available there either. StopVAW’s snapshot shows there are around 25 applicants with special priority status on the city’s waiting list for rent-geared-to-income housing.
“We can see that the women experiencing homelessness in our community are the same women experiencing violence in our community,” the report said. “They are the women in some of Perth County’s motels; they are the women on our housing waitlists; they are the women in our shelters and transitional housing. We can also see how the availability of safe, affordable housing could shift a woman’s experience during and following a violent relationship. Imagine how different the story … could be if there were more options for safe and affordable housing.”
While StopVAW’s snapshot suggests there is an increasing need for supports aimed at domestic violence victims, some positive steps were made in 2021, Schurter and Skinner reported. In 2021 almost 60 women experiencing homelessness secured permanent housing and 13 moved into rent-geared-to-income housing.
“I think it’s important to recognize the amazing work that is being done in our community and the collaborations that are happening,” Schurter said.
More statistics from StopVAW Perth County
(Jan.-Dec. 2021)
Policing and justice
940 domestic violence calls to police
168 domestic violence charges by police
83 police-reported sexual violence cases
41 partner assault response completions
3 human trafficking cases reported by Victim Services
Safety and supports
135 Women and children in shelter
234 Women and children using second stage housing
600 Reports of domestic violence and sexual violence to violence against women services
825 Sexual Assault Treatment Program visits
11,317 Sexual Assault Treatment Program crisis visits
227 violence against women and domestic violence counseling
1,071 accessed substance abuse counseling services
110 accessed counseling services for family member substance abuse
For more information about local resources:
Emily Murphy Center
emilymurphycentre.com
519.273.7350
Optimism Place
optimismplace.com
519-271-5310
Crisis line: A 519-271-5550
Family Services Perth Huron
familyservicesperth-huron.ca
519-273-1020
Crisis line: 1-888-829-7484