An online survey conducted by the Calgary Domestic Violence Collective (CDVC) is showing many organizations are feeling increased pressure as the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
“I think I was a bit caught off guard by how it was very consistent across the agencies,” Kim Ruse, CEO of the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter said. “It was not just a few agencies here and there… it really did seem to be across the entire sector.”
The annual survey looked at how organizations were navigating 2021 during ongoing waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and the highly transmissible Delta and Omicron variants.
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Out of 159 participants, 78 per cent said their client numbers have increased.
Of those respondents, 81 per cent said their numbers had increased 50 per cent while 9 per cent indicated demand had jumped by 100 per cent.
“The last time we saw rates go up was after the (2013) floods,” said Andrea Silverstone the CEO of Sagesse Domestic Violence Prevention Society. “We saw rates go up by 30 per cent and they never went down again.”
“I do not think we anticipated that rates would go up by 50 to 100 per cent.”
Silverstone said the issue is twofold with the pandemic also affecting staffing levels.
“Right now, about 25 percent of our staff at Sagesse is out with COVID,” she said. “If that’s the case, how do we make sure we’re serving the need and making sure no one is falling through the cracks?”
Sagesse is not alone. The CDVC survey showed 59 percent of respondents said the pandemic has impacted their staffing numbers.
“The shelters are working differently, in that we can not have people in our space in the way that we did before the pandemic,” Ruse said. “We’re also seeing those out in the field are dealing with the pandemic and the stressors of the increased demands.”
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According to the survey, of those who have been impacted, about half have had to increase staffing to keep up with the spike in people needing support services, while the other half had to let employees go.
Silverstone pointed out that even with these challenges, agencies are working tirelessly to avoid waitlists and still want people to reach out for help.
“What we’re seeing now, because COVID is taking front stage, is that people are waiting longer to access supports and services,” she said. “The longer you wait the worse the situation gets.”
And there’s concern that increased support could be needed long after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
“Policy makers need to recognize that this rise-in-domestic-violence issue is not going to go away as soon as the pandemic ends,” Silverstone said.
“Just like after the fires and the floods, the numbers stayed up and we think they’re going to stay up for at least ten years.”
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“I think the next wave of this may not be COVID,” Ruse agreed. “It’s the mental health wave that’s coming for everybody.”
Both Ruse and Silverstone said many organizations are in need of donations and are also asking people to keep in touch with their loved ones.
“If you’re worried about someone, reach out to them,” Ruse said. “Ask them how they’re doing and be willing to be a great supporter.”
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