ACWS releases annual domestic abuse data

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Member organizations of the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (ACWS), which includes Strathmore’s True North, have published their annual data release.

Linda McLean, executive director of True North, explained data is collected throughout the year from emergency shelters across the province as a collective before being released annually in December. The data is used to “paint a picture” of what shelters observe concerning domestic abuse in Alberta. 

“This year, we have actually seen a 10-year high in the sheer number of people who were seeking emergency shelter. We saw a 12.5 per cent increase in the number of calls for help, so 59,215 calls for help were received by shelters across the province,” she said. “It is a very large number of them. We also saw a 19 per cent increase in the number of individuals who were served in shelter in this past year – so that includes women and children.”

Regarding the shelter in Strathmore specifically, the numbers are almost identical to the data shared by similar organizations across the province, being a roughly 19 per cent increase in people seeking support from True North.

McLean added, according to the collective ACWS data, 44 per cent of all domestic emergency calls originated from small towns or rural areas.

“One of the things that we are finding is of great concern is that the length of time that women and families are staying in shelter has increased by almost 25 per cent,” she said. “That has a lot to do right now with the fact that it is exceptionally difficult right now to exit to community housing because of our housing crisis, because of the affordability, because of the very low vacancy rates, particularly in the Strathmore and Wheatland County area.”

McLean explained with people being unable to safely and effectively leave the shelters into appropriate housing, it is preventing more people in crisis from being able to access services such as those offered by True North.

“We are in a bit of a perfect storm, just because of the context that we are operating in,” she said. “The economic pressures on families right now, the inflationary situation related to affordability is putting a lot of strain on people. We also believe that in the aftermath of the pandemic, we are seeing dramatic increases on the mental health and wellbeing of individuals and families, including children and youth.”

Stress and strain on families and individuals regarding the housing crisis, as well as inflationary concerns are noted to be contributors to instances of domestic violence.

Overlaying those challenges, McLean added there remain societal values and norms which “normalize the abuse of women and children.”

Regular grant funding that True North receives has also not increased since 2015, which continues to add to the challenges of being able to support so many who are in need, and are unable to exit into more regular, stable housing.

True North is in the process of a capital project and is seeking the support necessary to construct 36 units of affordable housing within the Strathmore community, though the project is still in its infancy and does not yet boast an estimated completion date.

More information about True North, as well as crisis lines and crisis resources can be found on their website.