There’s always a need for additional funding for organizations like Crossroads for Women who support victims of domestic and sexual violence.
But Executive Director Chantal Poirier says since the women and children who stay at their shelter aren’t considered to be homeless and there is government funding they don’t qualify for, “In a perfect world, I’d like to see domestic violence and sexual assault would fall under the same funding stream as homelessness. There are a lot of funding opportunities that do cross my inbox. When I look at the criteria or some of the specifics for these women or organizations to fall under, we don’t qualify.
She says a lot of people define homelessness, as living on the streets or under a bridge or in a tent for two or three weeks.
“Honestly, these women and children need our help, and we are shutting them out. I think that is absolutely ridiculous that some of these organizations are struggling when there is so much money out there that we could be tapping into. I challenge anyone to come into our shelter and sit with these women and children and then to turn around and say that they are not homeless,” Poirier says
She says the only other option these women have is to move back in with their abusive partner.
“If we look at the number of women who came through our transition house, and in our second stage, and who called out crisis line in the past year and who went through our outreach program. In the Moncton area with all of those services, along with our sexual violence program, we have had over 1200 women that we have assisted in some way, either physically in our shelter or on our phone line. Some of those are children as well. That is per year, so it isn’t like it is a small amount and it continues to rise,” Poirier says.
