Huge spike in women seeking refuge
Facility sees 200 per cent jump after non-profit segregated men from women
The number of women in crisis seeking refuge at Covenant House has jumped by 200 per cent in the last eight months.
The dramatic spike in female clients is a welcome outcome, said executive director Krista Thompson: “It means they’re coming out from where they were hidden.”
The number of women in Covenant House’s crisis program tripled from an average of six per night to 18 after it started segregating women from men last October.
“We are now connecting with girls we have never connected with before,” said Thompson. “It’s not that they didn’t need support before — they did. They were in precarious ... living situations. Now they’re drawn into a safe, welcoming girl-friendly environment.”
Staff at the Vancouver non-profit, which helps street-involved youth aged 16 to 24, has long been concerned at the disparate ratio of men and women coming to them.
“We know there are as many homeless girls as boys, but why are they not coming out?” said Thompson. “Are there barriers? How come they are not accessing programs?”
In October, Covenant House split up men’s and women’s residential quarters, moving men to its Pender Street facility, and keeping women in the 24-bed Drake Street centre.
The results were immediate. Women used to make up only 25 to 35 per cent of clients; currently they make up 38 per cent. The goal is to have a 40-60 ratio of women to men, said Thompson.
More importantly, many of the women are new clients who have not previously accessed Covenant House’s other services, added Thompson.
“They’re young, they could be a runaway or a throwaway, and are often fleeing unsafe home environments,” she said.
“Often, they lived on the streets or in single-room-occupancy hotels or couch surfed.”
Some may have sought safety from a “boyfriend” who offered to befriend them in exchange for other favours.
Many struggle with mentalhealth issues or addiction.
Those who have undergone trauma or abuse at the hands of men are wary of living in a residential program where men live in the next room.
“Some of these young women we work with do have post-traumatic stress, so even having a male in their living space may trigger them,” said Katherine Kozak, who supervises youth workers who work one-on-one with young women. “Studies have shown that if we do create the space, the young women would come.”
Covenant House projects the number of homeless youth will grow by 0.5 to two per cent each year over the next 10 years, a trend that mirrors the general population.
It plans to increase capacity for both men and women by 40 per cent over the next four years.