Some Manitoba shelters supporting women and girls fleeing domestic violence say demand for their services has increased drastically in the last few years.
“The demand is high and overwhelming,” said Lisa Fast, the housing and outreach co-ordinator for Agape House in Steinbach, Man.
“Last year we had the highest numbers we’ve seen in over 10 years for those coming into shelter and accessing our crisis line, and this year we’re already on track to be 87 per cent higher than last year.”
Fast says it has them pushed to capacity.
“We never want to leave someone unsupported or in an unsafe environment, so we work closely with the network of shelters in Manitoba,” Fast said. “But we’re having to get creative with options for supporting people when they come in, because we’ve been at capacity for a full year now.”
Last week, the rural community of McCreary was devastated by what Manitoba RCMP are calling “a horrific act of domestic partner violence.” Police say Marlon Glover, 41, killed his former partner’s three family members at a home in the RM of McCreary. Glover died shortly after of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
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In February, 29-year-old Ryan Manoakeesick of Carman, Man., was charged in the killings of five people: his partner, their three young children and his partner’s niece.
Angela Braun, the executive director of Genesis House in Winkler, says domestic violence is at an all-time high in Manitoba.
“It’s a time like no other,” Braun told Global News.
“I’ve worked here for over 20 years and I’ve never had this experience.”
Braun says the demand for shelter and supports for those fleeing domestic and intimate partner violence is so overwhelming that shelters are being forced to make some difficult decisions.
“We have one room open right now and we’ve had multiple callers for that room,” Braun said. “Now we have to determine which of these women should get that room, knowing that that leads to others without (a room). That’s new for us, in the last two years that has become a thing, and that is really awful.”
“That’s a judgment call that none of us want to make,” Braun added. “When we hear something like what happened in McCreary, when we hear that on the news, every shelter director has the same thing in mind: ‘Please don’t let that be someone that I know.’”
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says intimate partner violence is something his government is working to address and prevent.
“We are going to learn from this terrible tragedy and implement further changes,” the premier said in a written statement to Global News.
“I recently turned to Dr. Brent Roussin for his advice from a public health perspective because intimate partner violence is contagious and is a learned behaviour. We need to work collaboratively and across government departments to prevent future tragedies from happening again.”
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