While cuts to organizations which respond to violence against women and children have been rescinded for this year, the Coast's providers of anti-violence services are bracing for possible cuts in 2010.
"When the cuts were announced for this fiscal year, up to June, they didn't include transition houses and second-stage houses," said Together Against Violence co-ordinator Keely Halward. "But it was kind of ominous as to the next two years."
A threatened $1.2 million provincial budget cut to anti-violence programs, which had providers of these services reeling, was rescinded in late September.
And any cuts to these programs on the Coast - which include Yew Transition House, with 30-day maximum stays for women fleeing violence; Thyme Second-Stage program for longer-term living; the Women's Outreach program, which provides support and practical assistance for women facing abuse; Women's Counselling Services, which helps women recover from the effects of abuse; and Children Who Witness Abuse Counselling (CWWAC), which supports children navigating the aftermath of abuse -would be disastrous, Halward said.
"These are women's lives that are possibly at risk," she said. "We've seen a number of murders across B.C. and definitely across Canada, and there's lots of missing women still. Locally we've been lucky that we haven't been touched by any tragedies of murders of women -of femicide - and of kids in the last long while, but a lot of communities like ours have."
Last year on the Coast, Yew Transition House received 838 calls from women seeking support and offered shelter and in-house support to 97 women and 36 children. Thyme Second Stage Program provided services for six women and 16 children, from ages two months to 12 years. The Women's Outreach program provided practical support to 84 women with 112 children. Women's Counselling Services had 152 referrals and provided weekly or bi-weekly counselling to 35 to 40 women at a time. And CWWAC provided support to 10 to 12 families, each with one child or more in the program.
Moreover, Halward said, these services are particularly critical as the Coast continues to grapple with the economic downturn.
"The recession touched us here, and there's a lot of research that shows that in times of economic stress or downturn or recession, violence actually increases against women," she said. "Our stats are showing that violence is increasing and women are reaching out more. So we're really concerned about that."
And the Coast's anti-violence programs, she said, need to be protected from cuts so victims of violence have access to a crucial safety net.
"[These programs] let women experiencing violence know that it's not acceptable, that our community doesn't accept it, that we offer support and options for them to leave and make plans that create more safety in their lives and find support instead of stigma," she said.
