Women and children in New Brunswick escaping domestic violence are finding themselves in emergency shelters for extended periods due to financial constraints preventing them from securing their own safe accommodations. Renee Charron, the executive director of Crossroads for Women, which is the primary transitional housing service for women in the province, emphasized the severity of the situation by highlighting that lives are at risk.
When women in crisis seek refuge at Crossroads for Women’s transitional housing, the initial intention is for a brief stay until they secure permanent housing. However, due to a scarcity of affordable options in the housing market, more women are being compelled to occupy the organization’s limited subsidized housing units, which quickly reach capacity.
A decade ago, the organization routinely filled its 17 emergency beds, but now with an expanded capacity of 41 beds, they often face full occupancy, necessitating referrals to other emergency shelters. Serenity House, a smaller shelter in Kent County, receives overflow clients from the Moncton area and can accommodate up to 10 women. Despite the current limited vacancies, the need for affordable housing in Kent County presents challenges, often forcing women to relocate far away due to financial constraints.
Valerie Roy-Lang, the associate director at the Violence Prevention Centre for Kent County, expressed the strain on their resources due to an influx of new clients requiring services. The recent increase in provincial funding enabled the Violence Prevention Centre to hire staff to care for children in emergency shelters while their mothers receive counseling or other support services.
The boost in provincial funding, amounting to $9.2 million injected into the Department of Women’s Equality budget, was announced in July to support organizations combating gender-based violence, following the declaration of the issue as an epidemic in New Brunswick. Despite the positive impact of the increased funding on essential operations and staff support, there remain challenges in meeting the growing demand for transitional housing services.
Charron and Roy-Lang emphasized the urgent need for expanding shelter capacities, acknowledging that their current budgets do not permit immediate expansion. They underscored the need for broader systemic changes to address the root causes of the housing crisis and the prevalence of domestic violence.