Stagnant wages a concern, Nixon says

“The reality is that the shelter sector in Alberta is experiencing a compounding of pressures on their operations,” she said. “Some shelters are even considering closing their unfunded beds, despite being at capacity every day. Some shelters don't receive government funding at all.”

Reimer called on the province to implement changes in order to support the sector to “keep women and children alive and safe from harm.”

At an unrelated news conference Wednesday, Seniors, Community and Social Services Minister Jeremy Nixon said it's important that people experiencing domestic violence have somewhere to go.

“We are doing and will do everything we can to make sure that individuals fleeing domestic violence have supports.”

Nixon also noted there are issues related to stagnant wages across the social sector.

“This is part of my mandate letter to look at and work at addressing the workforce challenges and certainly looking at wages is a big part of that.”

Overall, during the 12-month period, shelters received 65,390 calls seeking support. Of those, 25,530 were calls to request admission, yet only 16.6 per cent of those people gained entry.

There were 7,620 people sheltered — 4,182 women and 3,373 children, 48 men and 17 who indicated another gender.

Some shelters are even considering closing their unfunded beds, despite being at capacity every day.

Of those admitted, 6,989 were at emergency shelters.

In Edmonton, 30.7 per cent of emergency shelter clients stayed up to one week in a shelter, while 34.8 per cent stayed between one and three weeks, and 34.6 per cent stayed more than three weeks.

The report states the length of time a client stays is impacted by a variety of factors, including the affordability of local housing markets and the availability of community supports. It found a significant number of survivors require longer stays in shelters to support their safety and well-being.

Slightly more than 26 per cent of clients stayed at second-stage shelters, also known as transitional housing, for up to three months, while 21.2 per cent stayed between three and six months, 44.7 per cent stayed between six months and one year, and 7.9 per cent stayed for more than a year.

Seventy-two per cent of survivors who completed danger assessments in emergency shelters were at severe or extreme risk of being killed by a partner or ex-partner. For those staying in second-stage shelters, that figure rises to 85 per cent.

Shelters had to deny more than 11,000 requests for accommodation made by women and seniors due to capacity issues during a 12-month period, new data from an organization of domestic violence shelters shows.

A new report released Wednesday by the Alberta Council of Women Shelters (ACWS) examines the state of shelters between

April 1, 2021, and March 31.

According to the report, 11,546 requests for admission were made by women and seniors who had to be turned away due to shelters being at physical capacity, along with 6,241 children who would have accompanied them had there been space.

Another 7,570 requests by women and seniors were turned away for other reasons, along with 3,336 children who would have accompanied a parent into a shelter.

An individual is turned away when shelter staff are either unable to accommodate due to capacity, because there is not enough staff or the shelter does not have the resources to meet the complexity of needs.

Stagnant wages, funding, and frozen salaries are contributing to a staffing crisis and high turnover rates, said the report. Pressures due to inflation and a decline in donations have also made shelter budgets tighter.

Jan Reimer, executive director of ACWS, said shelters are under extreme strain due to chronic underfunding.