Women and children in New Brunswick escaping domestic violence are finding themselves staying in temporary shelters for extended periods due to financial constraints hindering their ability to secure permanent housing.
Renee Charron, the executive director of Crossroads for Women, which is the primary provider of transitional housing for women in the region, emphasized the severity of the situation, highlighting that the lives of these individuals are at risk.
Upon entering Crossroads for Women’s transitional housing, women in crisis are supposed to stay for a short period until they secure long-term housing. However, with a limited availability of affordable housing options, more women are being compelled to occupy the organization’s subsidized housing units, which are also filling up rapidly.
Over the past decade, the organization has seen a substantial increase in demand. While it once had 17 emergency beds in regular use, it now operates 41 beds, often reaching full capacity and necessitating referrals to other emergency shelters like Serenity House in Kent County, which can accommodate 10 women.
Valerie Roy-Lang, the associate director at the Violence Prevention Centre for Kent County, highlighted the scarcity of affordable housing in the area, resulting in women having to relocate far from their communities due to financial limitations.
Despite receiving additional provincial funding, these shelters are still struggling to cater to the growing influx of individuals seeking assistance. The recent increase in funding allowed the Violence Prevention Centre to hire staff to care for children in emergency shelters while their mothers receive counseling.
The government allocated $9.2 million to address gender-based violence issues in response to declaring it an epidemic in the region. However, Charron expressed disappointment that despite recurrent funding increases over the years, the deficits faced by these organizations have not been adequately addressed.
While transitional housing programs received a significant boost in the provincial budget, Charron and Roy-Lang emphasized the need for expanded shelter capacities and systemic changes to address the underlying issues of gender-based violence and affordable housing shortages.
In an email response, the Department of Women’s Equality acknowledged the strain on transitional housing centers and expressed commitment to developing sustainable programs to reduce the demand for services over the long term. Both directors stressed the need for broader changes beyond merely increasing shelter spaces to tackle the systemic challenges faced by women fleeing domestic violence.