More money for emergency women’s shelters in Alberta after decade-long pause

With more than 3,500 adults and close to 3,000 children admitted to women’s emergency shelters last year, and a growing need for safe spaces, Alberta is rolling out additional supports.

It’s been a decade since Alberta’s women’s shelters have seen any type of an increase, according to the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters, but that came to an end on Tuesday.

“We are keeping our election promise to provide women’s shelters an additional $10 million over four years. This includes $5 million to roll out immediately to address the urgent needs we’ve heard from our shelter partners and another $5 million if Budget 2024 is passed,” said Minister of Children and Family Services Searle Turton.

The provincial government says $55.8 million is invested annually in women’s shelters across the province, but Jan Reimer with the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters says the need has grown significantly, and shelters have been struggling for several years to keep pace.

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“When we did our calculations about how many women could be helped through these unfunded beds, it’s over 1,100 women and children and, on top of that, we’re also seeing additional capacity for our shelters that actually don’t have any staff and can’t open their doors without this funding,” she said. “If you look back over that decade, we’ve seen population growth, we’ve seen inflationary pressure, we’ve weathered a pandemic, we’re seeing increased demand, so we know how needed this funding is.”

The initial $5 million being rolled out will fund 104 more beds in 17 communities across Alberta, according to Turton.

Reimer says this money couldn’t come at a more crucial time.

“Because shelters are there around the clock, 24/7, [they] put an end to gender-based violence, they’re there for those who are seeking those services and they’re also on the front line of prevention, because if you ever want to make a big difference in domestic violence, you know it’s outreach with the children,” she explained.

Turton says it needed to happen. “It’s so important that survivors have a safe place to turn and have access to resources when and where they need them.

“For so many women that really have nowhere else to go, this investment is going to ensure that there’s going to be women and children protected, and they’re going to be supported,” Turton added. “And that’s why I think I’m so excited about how these funds will be used to improve the sector, make it so that women feel safe, and ensure that women’s shelters can continue to do the amazing work they do around the province.”

While Reimer is happy to see funding, she says much more needs to be done.

“Shelters also, when they receive that call, do all they can to support women, to get the supports they need,
she said. “But that doesn’t always mean they get what they need when they need it. And so the additional capacity that’s being announced today I think helps free up that system a little bit more, but we also have a lot more work to do.”

It comes as shelters are seeing more diversity in those needing help, with more than 2,000 newcomers staying in shelters in the province last year. Agencies often need to rely on translation services like CanTalk to best serve everyone.

“In our agency, diversity and inclusion, we’re diversified,” said Patricia Vargas of Catholic Social Services. “There’s different languages that we speak already, but of course don’t speak all the languages, so we add that to the tools we have like CanTalk.”

The Alberta government is also making changes to women’s shelter grant agreements, giving shelter providers more flexibility in how to allocate funding. These changes take effect April 1.

–With files from Laura Krause, CityNews Edmonton