After running at nearly full capacity for the last five years, the Hiatus House of Windsor is hoping to open a second location in Leamington.
The organization is looking to lease a piece of property from the Leamington District Memorial Hospital to open for residents in the county. Currently about 20% of people coming to the Hiatus House are from the county but Executive Director Tom Rolfe believes more county women would use the shelter if it were closer.
"In speaking with women from the county they would prefer not to come to the city because all of the natural supports aren't there and they would have to pull their kids out of school. Where as if we have a shelter in the county more people would use it," says Rolfe.
Currently the Hiatus House of Windsor has 42 beds for women and children looking to escape an abusive situation.
"We're full and we've been full for a long time and our occupancy continues to go up. This is the first year we haven't been able to admit every woman that calls us," says Rolfe.
The organization is currently completing a needs assessment for a second location which will be submitted to the province for approval.
"When we looked at our data and compare ourselves to other shelters in the southwest region, we're actually an under serviced area so we're making the case for a new shelter," says Rolfe.
If they are given the go ahead, they will complete a business case to determine how many beds the shelter would have. Construction would not likely start until the spring of 2018.