A perfect storm is sweeping over Quebec women’s shelters. At a time when requests for assistance reach peaks, the reception capacity is approaching saturation and the lack of manpower is exhausting the teams in place.
At La Gigogne de Matane, the phone has been ringing the bell since the spring. The house and its 12 beds have been occupied to their maximum capacity since “April, or even March”.
“Over such a long period, it’s unheard of,” sighs Vanessa Caron, coordinator of the domestic violence component.
In this context, requests for help sometimes have to wait. When there is an emergency, the distress goes without comfort: the women find refuge as best they can on mattresses spread out in the basement, where there is still room.
The scenario is the same at La Débrouille, in Rimouski. Here, too, the 7 bedroom house is full. “Each time a woman leaves, there are 2 or 3 waiting to take the place,” explains co-manager Geneviève Lévesque.
Faced with houses that cannot accommodate them, due to lack of space, women are directed to other resources, often located in eastern Quebec, hundreds of kilometers from their environment. Cabano, Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Gaspé, sometimes even the national capital: uprooting is particularly difficult for mothers, forced to tear their children from their school and their friends.
The Magdalen Islands are not immune to the storm. At L’Accalmie, the only lodging house offered to islanders, only one room remains available out of the four on offer.
“We have had a lot more calls since winter 2021,” notes coordinator Linda Turbide. “We are almost at full capacity since the start of the year. This summer, we even had to manage a waiting list. It rarely happened. “
The dozen beds of L’Amie elle, a shelter located in Forestville, 100 km east of Tadoussac, almost always welcome a beneficiary. “It’s full regularly, it rolls”, we confide at the reception. Ditto at the Maison des femmes de Baie-Comeau. “The phone is ringing,” describes coordinator Hélène Millier. “We have a lot of requests from relatives to know how to support the women around them. “
Not only are requests for help exploding, but the abuse is more serious and the victims are younger than before. “The pandemic has had really visible consequences”, adds Linda Turbide, who estimates that the women who call on L’Accalmie are now “between 25 and 40 years old”.
At L’Autre-Toit du KRTB, it was necessary to change locks and install alarm systems more often than usual to protect women from an abusive spouse or ex.
“The situations are more serious,” observes Louise Castonguay, coordinator of this shelter located in Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac. “Women fear more for their safety. “
Lack of staff
At a time when the needs are urgent, the workforce is lacking and recruitment is stalling.
“It’s hell,” illustrates Ms. Castonguay. “Before, when we posted a job, we could receive between 5 and 10 resumes. Now it’s almost nothing. “
At La Gigogne de Matane, it is the dedication of the employees that ensures service. “Everyone is working overtime,” explains Vanessa Caron. “I manage the schedules and if it weren’t for the great generosity of our staff, I wouldn’t be able to. “
Despite the lack of places and manpower, “we leave no one outside,” says Geneviève Lévesque, of La Débrouille. A message that the grouping of homes for women victims of domestic violence underlines in broad outline. “When a woman is in danger, we always find a solution,” insists Louise Riendeau, responsible for political issues within the group.
She admits, however, that “the shortage is hitting very hard.” The general shortage of staff adds up, in the case of shelters, to atypical hours. “They operate day and night, 7 days a week,” recalls Ms. Riendeau.
Government aid granted in the wake of the 18 feminicides that have occurred since the start of the year in Quebec have helped raise salaries, without however being able to meet all of the needs. “Salaries are rising everywhere,” explains Louise Riendeau. At the end of 2021, one in five positions is still vacant in the network of shelters.
Sword of Damocles
“We are able to meet the demand, but it is very fragile,” concedes Linda Turbide, of L’Accalmie. This precarious balance, the Omicron variant which is sweeping the world by recalling the fulgurance of the pandemic could suddenly upset it.
“I just like not thinking about it, it really creates a lot of anxiety,” says Vanessa Caron, of La Gigogne. “It’s always present like a sword of Damocles,” adds Louise Castonguay. “We are not immune. “
Few COVID-19 outbreaks have so far hit shelters for women victims of domestic violence. Strict compliance with sanitary measures made it possible to avoid the worst, according to several coordinators.
However, in the storm that has been blowing through the aid network since the start of the pandemic, a new gust may take the lifeline that some need.
“We are not yet out of service,” concludes Louise Riendeau. “But we are not far from it. “