Campaign gives shelters vital support
If you see people walking around this month wearing purple scarves, you’d be right in thinking they want to send a message.
It’s not a fashion statement per se so much as a communitywide show of solidarity against domestic violence that, sadly, has seen a big jump since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Niagara in March.
November is Woman Abuse Prevention Month, and Women’s Place of South Niagara has joined shelters across Ontario in the eighth annual Wrapped in Courage campaign.
Typically, Women’s Place — it operates the Nova House shelter in Niagara Falls and the Serenity House shelter in Welland — sells the symbolic purple scarves or purple ties this time of year to raise funds to support the costs of operating the shelters. But because of efforts to control the virus, Women’s Place won’t be selling scarves or ties, said executive director Jennifer Gauthier.
However, the need for financial support at Women’s Place is as great as it’s ever been, she said.
Even during a normal year, Women’s Place needs to raise about $500,000 just to keep the lights on.
But COVID-19 has forced the cancellation of major fundraisers for the agency such as the annual Book Riot
that was scheduled for June and which last year raised about $72,000.
“The need for our services has never been greater, given the risk to women and children,” said Gauthier.
The isolation, job losses, financial pressure, the inability of family members to take breaks from each other and increasing alcohol consumption has added tension to households that may already have been troubled, said Gauthier. That, in turn, has sparked a noticeable increase in both the number of cases of domestic abuse and in the severity of the violence, she said.
In September, Statistics Canada reported that in the first four months of the pandemic, police services representing 59 per cent of the country’s population reported a 12 per cent increase in domestic disturbances compared to last year.
Complicating matters even more is many women who normally might have had at least some kind of support network at work are now stuck at home.
“That’s one of our main concerns,” said Gauthier. “The disconnectedness of women now isolating in their homes without access to social supports. They’re not getting a reprieve from the violence.”
She stressed women experiencing abuse can reach out to Women’s Place via its emergency crisis lines, which have people answering calls or receiving texts 24 hours a day, at 905-7880113 or 905-356-5800.
Despite purple scarves not being sold this year, Gauthier said people wearing them will show women suffering abuse that they’re not alone.
“I think it’s important that we all stand together and say violence against women and children is not OK,” she said.
By donating directly to Women’s Place via its website or to the Wrapped in Courage campaign — through which donations will be shared among shelters — people can help ensure the local shelters can continue to keep women and children safe, said Gauthier.
People can text the word “courage” to 41010 to donate $5 to $25.
“Right now, most shelters in Ontario can’t cover their basic operating costs without turning to fundraising and are in urgent need of your support,” said Gauthier. “The need has reached critical proportions.”
On Nov. 25, the International Day of the Elimination of Violence Against Women, people can also show their support by tying a purple scarf somewhere people can see it then posting a photo on social media with the hashtag #wrappedincourage or using the tag @wrappedincourage.
Local and provincial influencers are also sharing their support for the campaign in November. Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates, for example, posted a video saying it’s appalling that one in three women will face abuse in their lifetimes.
“How wrong it that?” he asked. “Our women’s shelters are doing an incredible job (but) … they need our financial support.”