Funding from the province aims to help women in rural Ontario who are victims of domestic violence.
Ontario Minister of Community and Social Services, Dr. Helena Jaczek was in Strathroy on Friday to announce the $1-million Rural Realities Fund..
Violence Against Women (VAW) agencies will be able to use the funding to deal with the unique challenges they encounter in delivering services to abused women in their rural, remote, and Northern communities.
"What we have is an issue across the province with domestic violence, with violence against women," says Dr. Jaczek. "We have realized VAW agencies need additional funding, whether it's for a deal with the local taxi company or purchasing a van. They need some practical help in terms of ensuring women have some mobility."
The fund will be spent over the next two years with the province's 96 VAW agencies able to apply for funds.
"We will be looking at the effectiveness of what we get for $500,000 this year and $500,000 next year," says Dr. Jaczek. "We'll be looking at best practices and how people have used the funding. Every community is a little different so the needs will be a little different. Obviously they will be looked at on an individual basis."
Corey Allison, executive director of the Women's Rural Resource Centre of Strathroy and Area isn't wasting any time devising a plan.
"Given that it is a million dollars to extend over the province I think we need to be creative in how we work together," says Allison. "Innovation was named as part of this project so I am hoping some of my sister agencies who are here from quite a distance, that we will be able to put our heads together to look at how we can do something different to leverage our resources and leverage this fund to have broad impact ."
Allison notes that housing is one of the greatest challenges her centre faces.
"A woman might leave a violent situation to come to our emergency shelter but we are not long term housing," says Allison. "So if there is no housing available for her that is safe and affordable her only option is to go back to a home that is not safe, we go from violence and abuse to homelessness rather quickly."
The province will also be working with VAW agencies to develop a Crisis Response Framework that will help agencies come up with coordinated plans to respond to tragedies involving violence against women.
Over the last two years, roughly 10,390 women and 7,330 children in Ontario required the help of a VAW shelter.