Regional women’s crisis services in high demand as federal funding fades

Referrals to outreach workers with Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region have skyrocketed to 90 per-cent since the start of the pandemic, and calls to the organization’s crisis line and online chat have increased nearly 25 per-cent.

That’s according to the C.E.O of the organization, Jennifer Hutton.

“Not only are we seeing the rates go up,” Hutton stressed. “But we’re seeing the issues and the level of violence more extreme and more complex.”

Hutton highlighted that Waterloo Regional Police receive approximately 6,000 calls a year related to domestic violence.

She also acknowledged that the affordability crisis is playing a role in the demand for services, leading to women who are experiencing domestic abuse staying in shelter spaces for longer periods of time.

“That turnover that we would’ve seen previously has a bit more of a bottleneck,” Hutton explained. “Because people are staying in those beds for longer than the typical eight to twelve weeks.”

In April 2020, the federal government greenlit $300 million in emergency funding towards organizations supporting those experiencing domestic based violence.

Over 1,000 organizations have received a portion of that funding on an annual basis, including Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region.

Hutton said that the federal funding made a big impact.

“We were able to make sure we had the staff in place that that we needed, any of those extra costs to run the shelter, and our other programs during the pandemic.” Hutton stated.

The pandemic based federal funding for women’s shelters across the country is expected to end in September.