'We're stuck': Women's shelters can't serve as many people due to lack of resources, province finds

Manitoba domestic violence shelters are facing a lack of resources and fewer women and children are being served as a result, a recent report from the province states.

According to the 2015/16 annual report on Manitoba Family Services, women's shelters in the province saw a 10 per cent drop in overnight or "residential" clients and a more than 25 per cent drop in clients for follow-up counselling from 2014/15 to 2015/16.

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"Reduced staffing resulting in a lower number of clients being served by shelters, particularly in non-residential, follow-up and children's programming areas," the report states in a footnote.

Residential clients dropped to 1,193 last year from 1,325 the year before and 1,350 the year before that, the report says, while clients receiving follow-up counselling dropped to 336 from 470.

Anna Pazdzierski, executive director of Nova House in Selkirk, said the report confirms what many working in the sector have known for a long time: cash-strapped shelters are being forced to make cuts, and victims of domestic violence are suffering for it.

'We're stuck'

Manitoba shelters haven't received a funding increase in a decade, Pazdzierski said, but costs and salaries continue to rise.

"We're stuck," she said. "Salaries are about 85 per cent of our costs. When we don't get funding, we just have to cut staff.

"All of us have been cutting staff on a regular basis."

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Pazdzierski said demand hasn't changed, but shelters aren't able to do as much with fewer people, and the numbers reflect that.

"I've been with Nova House 17 years, and it's just gotten worse year after year," she said. "The last decade has been the worst."

Shelters aren't willing to turn people away in an emergency, she said, so follow-up, outreach and children's services are falling by the wayside.

The number of children who received counselling fellto 1,162 last yearfrom 1,797 in 2007,according to past provincial reports.

The number of clients receiving follow-up counselling in Manitoba has also trended downwards to 336 last year from 729 in 2007.

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To keep afloat, Pazdzierski said she spends the majority of her time applying for grants and looking for funding instead of providing services to clients, and the shelter holds regular fundraisers.

"We're often told that fundraising is part of our mandate and we're all expected to be able to fundraise," she said.

"It seems that only people that work with women and children have to have bake sales."

Nova House raises between $100 and $150,000 a year just to maintain their programming, Pazdzierski said. Without that money, she said the centre would have to cancel programs and lay off two or three of its 10 staff members.

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Nova House is currently trying to raise a further $250,000 to pay for a new centre because its current building doesn't meet building code, she said.

"Kids are having hot dog sales in their schools and giving us the proceeds," she said. "We're doing bake sales. We're doing all kinds of stuff to raise that money."

"The demand is not less," she said."Our problem is we just can't provide the services that we used to be able to provide, so there are people in outreach and follow-up that are waiting."

Province responds

Pazdzierski said she's been working with the new provincial government, and is hopeful funds will come in the future.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister says he understands and supports the important work done in women's shelters, but says funding increases won't be known until the provincial budget is complete.

"The challenges they face are real and I have long-standing understanding they haven't had funding increases for a decade plus," he told reporters Wednesday.

"I am very concerned and I expect we will have more to say in the budget process," he said.

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Pallister wasn't willing todefine someone who works at a shelter as a "front-line worker." TheProgressive Conservative government has promised to protect front line services as it moves to balance the provincial books and lower taxes.

Families Minister Scott Fieldingsaid the province is developing a "modernization strategy" for its Family Violence Prevention Program.

"The level of debt that the previous NDP governmentaccumulated has jeopardized our province's ability to repair the service Manitoba depends on," he said. "We recognize these challenges and are working together with community partners and the Family Violence Consortium."

The new approach will includeraising awareness, prevention initiatives and building on the wealth of knowledge and experience of direct service providers, he said.

The province hopes to implement the new strategy next year.