‘It’s appalling’: How women’s shelters in Canada can’t keep up with soaring demand

Shelters for women and children in Canada say they are in a crisis, with not enough beds to keep up with demand for their service.

The Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network reports that approximately 699 women and 236 accompanying children are turned away from domestic violence shelters across Canada each day.

Jasminder Sekhon, director of community engagement, EDI and policy at Victim Services Toronto, says a lot of women are struggling to leave dangerous situations right now because they don’t have the economic resources to do so.

“When people are leaving, they’re looking for a safe place to go, and when shelter beds are absolutely full to the brim, and there isn’t enough space for people experiencing these forms of violence, many people end up getting turned away,” Sekhon says. “When people, their children, their pets are being turned away from going into shelter, then those individuals may not have anywhere to turn.”

Victim Services Toronto answered more than 18,000 calls in the last year, of which 70 per cent were for some form of gender-based violence, and they are not alone.

Because of the high cost of living, many women are staying in shelters for months, unable to find an affordable place to live after they leave an unsafe situation, compounding the issues shelters are facing.

The Women and Children’s Shelter of Barrie expects to turn away 650 women and children this year for service, already running over capacity at 35 beds in a 27-bed facility.

“Women are calling, and they are in desperate situations. They are telling us he is going to kill me, and we’re doing everything that we can to try and provide support to those women and their kids to create safety for them,” says the shelter’s excitative director, Theresa MacLennan.

Lives are at risk

Anova, which operates several shelters and housing for women and children in London and Middlesex County, Ont., estimates that as of 2023, it had turned away more than 2,300 people.

Between 2022 and 2023, the number of women and children accessing Anova’s shelter rose 30 per cent, and it estimates that it will increase by another 20 per cent by the end of the year.

“It’s appalling because we’re talking about women and kids’ lives every time we have to say to a woman who calls in that we don’t have space,” says Anova’s acting executive director, Jane McGregor.

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When women aren’t able to leave a dangerous situation, McGregor says the impacts can be fatal, leading to an increase in femicide.

On June 22, Cheryl Lynn Sheldon, 62, was found with life-threatening injuries in an apartment building in London.

She later died in hospital from her injuries, and George Kenneth Curtis, 44, was charged with second-degree murder in her death. Police said the two knew each other.

Advocates say it has been reported that Sheldon sought help from a local women’s shelter before her death but was unable to get a bed due to there not being enough space.

Sheldon’s case is a tragic example of how dire the situation in shelters is. McGregor says staff are overwhelmed with the demand and reality of what happens when they have to turn women away.

What is needed

Shelters say while the issues get worse, the focus needs to be on those perpetuating the abuse.

“We need to have an understanding about what is happening in the lives of men that leads them to feel that they have power and control over a woman and that power and control comes out in intimidation, gaslighting physical abuse, financial abuse, high degree of emotional abuse,” MacLennan says.

While the situation to address violence against women is complex, what all agencies agree on is more money is needed.

“There needs to be a real dedicated, thorough plan to fund the violence against women sector for sure,” MacLennan says.

Due to the high cost of living, women are struggling to leave abusive situations, but that high cost is also making it harder for shelters to keep the lights on and pay staff accordingly.

More and more shelters are having to rely on food banks for support, which are also struggling with an increasing number of people in need of help.

McGregor says they are working from a scarcity model regarding funding and calling on the provincial and federal governments to step up support.

“This is a non-partisan issue, and maybe they should sit down and talk to the families of women who have been murdered, and see what it’s actually like for them because their lives are changed forever. So, if we can prevent that, then that would have a huge impact, and that would be getting the job done.

Despite an overwhelming demand for help, McGregor does not want women and girls in need to give up and stop calling.

“We’re here to support as best we can. We have a great communication link between our different shelters, and don’t stop calling us. We are still open 24-7, and you deserve to have a life that’s free of violence,” she says.

Those in need of help escaping violence can call the Assaulted Women’s Helpline: 1-866-863-0511 in Ontario. Resources for help in other provinces can be found here.