Quebec women’s shelters hit with funding crisis: study – Montreal Gazette

June 8, 2017

Quebec’s largest network of women’s shelters is in the thick of a crisis that might leave victims of domestic abuse with nowhere to turn, a new study suggests.

Last year, 10 of the network’s 33 shelters had an occupancy rate of over 100 per cent and another eight were operating at or near capacity. And while more and more women are turning to these places to flee violence, funding for shelters isn’t keeping up with demand.

“We’re hitting a ceiling, it’s that simple. The situation is desperate,” said Manon Monastesse, director general of the Fédération des maisons d’hébergement pour femmes (FMHF). “When a woman calls and we don’t have room — this year we’ve exceeded 9,000 of those calls.

“We’re worried the woman will never call again, that she might get discouraged and not get help. We do what we can to find them another shelter and what that means is often they have to move from Montreal to a faraway region. It’s making a difficult situation even worse.”

Read More: http://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec-womens-shelters-hit-with-funding-crisis-study