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For 20 years, Global News has been collecting donations via our annual Give Me Shelter campaign to help women and children who are escaping domestic abuse this holiday season and now, in 2023, the need could not be greater.
Domestic violence is on the rise in the province and shelters don’t have enough space for those fleeing to safety.
A report released Monday by the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters said from from April 2022 to the end of March 2023, there were more than 59,000 calls for help answered by the shelters, which is a 10-year high.
Shelters could not, however, accommodate another 30,000 requests for admission, which is also the highest number in the past decade, due to the lack of shelter space and growing complex needs of some survivors.
The data from 39 organizations operating 53 domestic abuse shelters across Alberta also shows a 10-year high in reports of forced sex and strangulation, which the council says increases the risk of being killed by 750 per cent.
Our Give Me Shelter campaign aims to help lighten the load for those who do manage to escape and get to safety.
Last year, Give Me Shelter raised $87,000 for Edmonton-area women’s shelters — a drop from 2021, when more than $218,000 was donated.
Your help is needed.
Who benefits?
Each year, thousands of women and children seek safety at one of the Edmonton and area women’s shelters.
Many leave quickly, taking nothing more than the clothes on their backs in a desperate attempt to get away to someplace safe. That means come the holiday season, they are often without the things most people take for granted.
In the past the Give Me Shelter campaign collected physical gifts in addition to money, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced a change. Now, Global News exclusively collects gift cards and online monetary donations.
We’re collecting gift until December 14.
To donate gift cards, we have set up a donation box at the front entrance of Global Edmonton (5325 Allard Way NW.)
Online donations can be made by visiting our website: Globalnews.ca/givemeshelter. All donations will be divided evenly among six participating Edmonton and area shelters:
Jessie’s House
Win House
WINGS
A Safe Place
LaSalle Residence
Lurana Shelter
We will also be holding a donation drive-thru day on Wednesday, Dec. 13 outside Global Edmonton from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Global News TV and radio personalities will be standing curbside to collect donations that day.
Not in Edmonton? There are many women’s shelters throughout Alberta that need your support this holiday season. Consider a donation to the shelters in your area. Go to ACWS.ca to find a shelter in your community.
If you or a loved one are experiencing domestic violence, find a shelter in your area or call the confidential 24-hour hotline at 1-866-331-3933. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
