Domestic violence always results in physical or psychological suffering, with women being the most frequent victims. To address these violations of rights and acts of cruelty, many urban centres establish support centres for women. One such facility in Calgary is the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter (CWES). More details are available on calgarynka.
The History of the Shelter
In 1973, a group of women initiated a small volunteer-run shelter for women and families as domestic violence cases were steadily increasing. A year later, the shelter was officially registered as the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter (CWES), a charitable organization.
In collaboration with leaders in family violence counselling, the shelter adopted a unique approach to support victims of domestic violence. This methodology was developed by Canadian family therapist and researcher Allan Wade along with Linda Coates and Nick Todd. Since its inception, CWES has expanded and refined this approach.
The shelter is accredited under the national standards program of Imagine Canada and the Canadian Accreditation Council for governance, accountability, and transparency. It is funded through non-governmental and private sources and maintains financial transparency with positive evaluations for its outcomes.
As of 2022, the shelter has assisted over 250,000 Calgary residents, helping them build safe lives and healthy relationships. It houses 50 beds for women and their children to escape from abusers, providing them with clothing, meals, and assistance in finding rental housing.
In 2021, the shelter temporarily accommodated 385 women and 432 children. The cost of housing one person was $4,987 in 2021 and rose by 24% to $6,175 in 2022.
Programs
The shelter has developed programs to help women and their families prevent or escape abusive situations. Shelter specialists offer counselling and, when necessary, assist in connecting clients with community services.
One of CWES’s key initiatives is the Healthy Relationships Program, which provides youth counselling and discussions about issues related to violence, unhealthy relationships, and abusive behaviour. Teachers and school counsellors contributed to the program’s development. Participants have reported that they learned how to establish healthy relationships over time.
Additional programs provide support for men and children. Men who recognize that their anger and abusive behaviour harm their families can seek counselling. According to CWES, men who participated in these consultations later reported a readiness to take responsibility and begin making positive changes.
Pet-Friendly Rooms
In April 2019, 25-year-old Jasmine Lovett and her 22-month-old daughter Aliyah Sanderson went missing. Their bodies were found in the dense forests of Kananaskis in May 2019. Jasmine’s former boyfriend, 36-year-old Robert Leeming, was convicted of the crime.
Following this tragic event, Jasmine’s mother and Aliyah’s grandmother, Kim Blankert, used $25,000 allocated for funeral expenses to open three pet-friendly rooms in the shelter, allowing women to stay with their pets.
The shelter’s Executive Director, Kim Ruse, told Global News that these rooms would enable women to flee abusers more quickly, as many hesitate to leave out of concern for their pets’ safety. These rooms were inaugurated in June 2020.