Shelter struggles to secure funding as the demand for services grows

Shelter struggles to secure funding as the demand for services grows. Emma Lewzey, the Redwood Shelter's fundraising manager, accepts a $2,000 cheque from Peggy Nash, on behalf of the CAW. CAW donated $100,000 to four women's shelters in Toronto and 50 across the province this month. Staff photo/LISA RAINFORD

Few would ever guess she is also a survivor of domestic abuse.

Almost eight years ago, the local resident met a man, who told her he was in Toronto on business. Charming and handsome, he swept Veronica off her feet. On the surface, everything seemed to be perfect. Even though her gut told her otherwise, she pushed her suspicions aside because she was in love.

Once engaged, her fiance changed. He was no longer the man she fell in love with. He became controlling, keeping tabs on her phone calls and internet use. He isolated her from her friends and family. Alone and in fear, Veronica endured months of torture and threats on her life. All she thought of was escaping to a shelter, but if she ever uttered a word about leaving, her fiance would threaten to kill members of her family.

For more than a year, Veronica stayed put - until police arrived at her doorstep with a warrant. Turns out the man she thought she knew had been lying to her about his identity since the very beginning. When she read the warrant, she thought, 'alright, now I know I'm OK, I'm not crazy.'

Veronica's tormentor was sentenced to 15 years in prison while she was left to deal with the aftermath. She suffered nightmares and panic attacks. That's when she took up karate as a way to cope. As she began feeling stronger, Veronica decided that other women just shouldn't suffer like she had.

Today, Veronica teaches self-defence to women and children at The Redwood Shelter, a safe haven for women and their children escaping domestic abuse. She manages to find time to volunteer in the shelter's kitchen despite a busy schedule running an online vintage clothing boutique. A portion of sales from her online store, called SomeLikeItVintage.com, go towards The Redwood as well as other programs in support of ending violence against women. Veronica shared her story in the shelter's 2009 Annual Report: Women on the Move.

"I've never met women in my life who are as resourceful and strong as the women who come here," said Emma Lewzey, The Redwood's fundraising manager, during a tour of the facility Wednesday, March 10, with Peggy Nash, assistant to CAW President Ken Lewenza.

The CAW donated a portion of the $100,000 shared between four women's shelters in Toronto and 50 across the country from the union's Social Justice Fund, monies negotiated to help support socially-progressive projects in both Canada and abroad. The money couldn't have come at a better time, said Lewzey.

"Our most pressing need right now is financial support," she said. "What happens with the economy getting difficult - our funding has gone down, but the demand for our services has gone up. There are many, many women in need."

In the upcoming year, one in four women will experience violence in an intimate relationship, said Lewzey. With 33-beds, The Redwood Shelter is one of the larger women's shelters in the city. It includes lots of program space, a resource centre boasting eight computer stations, a library, an outdoor courtyard with a vegetable garden, a kids' playroom, a common room and a gym. Women as young as 18 and as old as a "feisty 92-year-old" have lived at the shelter, although, "we see mostly younger moms," said Lewzey.

"It's surprising how many don't know that the shelter is here," said Nash. "It's a phenomenal space."

Always near or at capacity, Lewzey said keeping the shelter's location confidential while trying to raise awareness is a "tricky balance."

"We provide moms and kids with a community. They really support each other," she said.

A typical stay is now as long as three to four months.

"If governments are serious about combating the unrelenting problem of violence against women, they must commit to funding for women's shelters, invest in affordable housing and a national child care program, all of which provide women the options necessary to leave violent relationships," said Nash, who is also the federal NDP party candidate. "While individual donations go a long way in helping, they cannot erase the very real systemic issues that allow violence to continue."

In addition to making an annual donation, the CAW is urging the federal and provincial governments to provide core funding to agencies that provide services to women and their children who are fleeing violent relationships.