Children who witness intimate partner violence badly need support, says shelter director
Iris Kirby House plans to use grant money from City of St. John’s to hire mental-health professional specifically for youth
Iris Kirby House in St. John’s says it will use a recent $130,000 grant it received from the City of St. John’s to hire badly needed and urgent extra support for children affected by intimate partner violence.
An emergency shelter and transition house for women with or without children who are experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV), Iris Kirby House was successful in its application for the grant, which is offered through the city’s Building Safer Communities program.
Despite children making up a quarter of its residents, the shelter currently has only one staff person dedicated specifically to their support.
The impact of intimate partner violence and family violence on children can’t be overstated, says Malin Enström, Iris Kirby House executive director, and children who come to the shelter have often been significantly traumatized.
“For the children and youth arriving at Iris Kirby House, the situation is often acute,” she told The Telegram. “Most of these young individuals have experienced severe trauma and are in extremely vulnerable states.”
Enström says shelter staff are increasingly meeting children who have been exposed to so-called honour-based violence – generally defined as criminal behaviour motivated by the offender’s perception that it is acceptable to protect what they see as the honour of themselves, a family or community – and oppression.
“These children are often faced with other forms of anxiety due to strict restrictions of freedom that they are forced to live with in everyday life,” Enström said.
“Providing all children and youth with timely and appropriate mental-health support is paramount to their healing and recovery.”
According to a fact sheet published by the provincial government as part of its Violence Prevention Initiative in 2015, children who live in situations where intimate partner violence is occurring can experience both short- and long-term emotional, behavioural and developmental issues, like post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
“Even when children are not direct targets of violence in the home, they are harmed by witnessing it,” the province says, indicating that in 30 to 40 per cent of homes where intimate partner violence occurs, children are also abused.
The lasting impacts of intimate partner violence on children have long been recognized, including by the courts, when it comes to the perpetuation of a cycle of violence.
Iris Kirby House’s new mental-health counsellor will specialize in working with children and adolescents affected by trauma.
“This counsellor will work closely with the young residents and their mothers, offering therapy sessions tailored to their unique needs,” says Enström. “Additionally, the counsellor will collaborate with other professionals at the shelter to ensure a holistic and trauma-informed approach to care.”
The grant will also contribute to the redesign of three spaces within Iris Kirby House and extra training in crisis prevention and intervention for staff. The funding comes at a particularly challenging time for the shelter, which has experienced an increase in demand for services since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.