Women’s shelter statistics released, local facility on par with rest of province

By JEREMY APPEL on December 6, 2019.

jappel@medicinehatnews.com@MHNJeremyAppel

The executive director of the Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter Society says local statistics are mostly consistent with province-wide data released Wednesday.

According to the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters, a woman is murdered by her current or former domestic partner every six days in Alberta, the province with one of the highest domestic violent rates in Canada.

In 2018-19, there were 10,128 women, children and seniors sheltered in Alberta, as well as 60,170 crisis calls to shelters, the council says.

“On the ground locally, we’re also very busy,” says Natasha Carvalho. “In relation to a city this size, I often feel that we see a lot of people.”

In the same time span, the MHWSS housed 267 adults and 140 children in its main Phoenix Safe House, 22 adults and 34 children in second-stage housing, in addition to placing 24 adults and two children in community housing.

Outreach services dealt with 642 adults and 131 children, while MHWSS received 1,393 crisis calls, totalling 24,403 minutes.

“Kids are suffering violence at a younger age,” Carvalho said. “I’m glad they’ve come to us when they need to be safe, but it also speaks volumes to what’s going on in younger families – that we’re seeing violence there as well.”

It’s important for the public to know that the shelter system is “more than just a bed,” Carvalho added.

“If people need to come here because they need the physical safety of the shelter, then absolutely we’re the place for that. But we also offer other services that people aren’t always aware of that can also support them,” she said, specifically referring to MHWSS’s outreach system.

“We have a whole office site off site, not even attached to the shelter. People can go there and talk to somebody and figure out what they want to do. Even if they’re not leaving that abusive situation, they can figure out how to remain safe in that situation and what to do if it happens again.”

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