A home violence survivor is talking out concerning the gaps in Waterloo Area’s shelter system.
The girl, whose identification has been hid for security causes, has been staying at Anselma Home for the previous a number of months.
The Kitchener, Ont. shelter helps ladies and youngsters making an attempt to flee abusive conditions.
“I thank them everyday,” the girl instructed . “They saved my life. When I went to them, I didn’t think my life was worth saving.”
She stated she was a special individual when she first arrived at Anselma Home.
“Nervous. No confidence at all. Scared of my shadow,” she admitted. “Broken. I was broken.”
The girl had been in an abusive relationship for greater than 5 years however she lastly obtained away after many harmful altercations.
“I was in a place where I couldn’t get away from him. Where he has talked about ending my life, where he’s going to bury my body,” she stated.
Anselma Home
Anselma Home assists tons of of girls and their kids yearly. Employees normally solely take shoppers in for 3 months however stated, because of the housing disaster, extensions are widespread.
“I have to leave because of the system. The system is broken,” the girl instructed . “There’s no transition housing for women, for single women. There is for families, which is fantastic. But we’re kind of falling through the cracks with single women.”
Jennifer Hutton is the CEO of Girls’s Disaster Companies of Waterloo Area (WCSWR), which run each Anselma Home and Haven Home, a 45-bed shelter in Cambridge, Ont.
WCSWR is making an attempt to assist fill the gaps within the system.
“We are advocating for more affordable and transitional housing options in Waterloo Region to ensure clients can safely transition out of emergency shelters and into independence,” she stated. “Not only would this greatly assist families who are ready to move on from the shelter, it would also free up emergency shelter space for the many individuals who desperately need it.”
What’s subsequent?
The girl stated she’s on a waitlist for reasonably priced housing in Waterloo Area.
It’s been a yr and to this point, no luck.
“Women who have gone through this are doing their best to start over and start fresh and we’re being cut off at the knees, basically, because who’s going to leave? I would have stayed. I would have stayed had I known this was my future. At least I would have had a home,” she instructed .
She anxious her solely choice can be dwelling on the streets however wouldn’t really feel protected there due to her previous trauma.
“I don’t want to be homeless. I’ve lost enough, I think. And now I’m at risk of that.”
Her solely hope is that she doesn’t get again to a darkish place.
“When I look into his face when he’s in that moment. It’s terrifying. It’s crippling. It’s like he’s not even there,” she stated.
reached out to the Area of Waterloo for touch upon the reasonably priced housing scenario however didn’t hear again by our deadline.
