Calgary’s Discovery House sees high demand

It’s a dire situation at a Calgary shelter that houses women and children fleeing domestic violence.

The current wait time at Discovery House is now four months long. That’s too long for women and children who are in extremely unsafe situations, the shelter’s executive director says.

“We have folks who are phoning us who don’t know where they are going to sleep tonight,” Leslie Hill, executive director of Discovery House, said.

“We’ve had people calling us from hotels and in motels where they don’t have enough money to do that long-term, or people who’ve returned to their abuser or people calling from their vehicles who don’t have a place to stay that night,” Hill said.

The reasons for the long wait times are complex. Hill says women and their children are typically staying longer, and more women are experiencing domestic violence.

“Through the pandemic – people were staying longer in their domestic violence relationships and experiencing more abuse. The lack of available affordable housing, so it’s really hard for people to find housing, so they’re staying longer as a result, and we’re all experiencing the effects of inflation,” Hill said.

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Andrea Silverstone, CEO of Sagesse, says long wait times for these kinds of shelters can have a devastating effect.

“Situations can become more conflicted and escalate while people are on waiting lists, so that’s definitely a challenge we’re seeing our clients dealing with,” Silverstone said.

Calgary police say incidents of domestic violence are declining in the city — 227 were reported in September, down from 390 the same month in 2019. However, Silverstone says the numbers don’t reflect reality.

“Only 20 per cent of those who experience domestic abuse report it to police, and only 35 per cent access services. What Discovery House is seeing is what all other agencies are seeing which is a rise in the number of people accessing services,” Silverstone said.

Silverstone adds all domestic abuse agencies are seeing more complex cases as well.

Fifty-two per cent of the women who arrived at Discovery House in 2021 were at severe or extreme risk of homicide.

To alleviate wait times, Discovery House has a campaign called the Gift of Hope — every dollar donated will be matched, but beyond that, intervention and prevention are key.

“Recognize the domestic abuse – empathize, ask the right questions, and listen,” Silverstone said.