Quebec organizations helping women in need amid intimate partner violence are sounding the alarm, as a shortage of shelter spaces for women trying to escape their situations is getting worse. Some organizations say they have no other choice but to turn victims away.
Last year, Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale au Québec turned away 3,300 women due to a lack of space.
Between April 2023 and March 2024, SOS violence conjugale, received 16,327 calls from victims asking to be referred to a shelter, the organization could only accommodate nearly half those women.
Shield of Athena, a non-profit organization for victims of family violence is facing the same issue.
“Last year, the shelter had 7,400 and some calls for assistance, but there were 118 people that went into the shelter,” said Melpa Kamateros, executive director of Shield of Athena.
Kamateros says providing safe spaces for women also means providing safe spaces for their children.
“In our shelter last year, we had 56 children and 61 per cent of those 56 children were between the ages of newborn until four years old,” said Kamateros.
According to Women’s National Housing & Homeless Network, nearly 700 women were turned away from domestic violence shelters across Canada each day. For years, several women’s advocacy groups have called on Ottawa and Quebec to put an end to the inconsistent funding for shelters.
In a statement to CityNews from the office of Quebec’s Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau reads in part, “We have good collaboration with various organizations and with the Alliance, and we have principles agreements with most to resolve impasses. We will ensure that all projects come to fruition as quickly as possible.”
Quebec’s Social Services Minister will be meeting with Alliance MH2, another women’s advocacy group, on Wednesday to discuss the topic at hand.