On June 11th we were joined by Jenna from Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region.
Startlingly in our community there are 16 domestic violence calls a day totalling about 6k per year. Domestic violence in our community can take many forms including physical, emotional and financial.
Women’s Crisis Services is made up of two 45 bed shelters (Anslema House and Haven House) started in 1978 that merged in 2001. The sad reality is that both of these shelters are at capacity basically every night. Almost 40% of the clients served are children and youth. Included with overnight accommodation is 1 prepared meal a day although there is food available at all time. The shelters are hotel style with adjoining doors that allow families of varying size to be accommodated together. Programs offered in partnership with other community organizations include onsite psychologists, music therapy, the Resilience Project and the Family Violence Project. Another notable project is the “She is Your Neighbour” project that is a storytelling series that is available on their website telling the story of domestic violence in our community.
Impact of current instability in provincial funding on the agency is currently not known.
For further information please see their website.