The governments of Canada and Manitoba announced $6.2 million in federal and $6.35 million in provincial funding, according to the Community-Led Projects Addressing Gender-Based Violence press release, to support 19 gender-based violence community initiatives across the province.
Federal Women and Gender Equality and Youth Minister Marci Ien and Manitoba Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine, minister responsible for women and gender equity, announced this July 22nd in Winnipeg.
Genesis House received $125, 000. Community outreach worker Sophie Gerbrandt said funding will go towards a position for 18 months to two years to help transition the shelter to meet an emerging need.
"We are noticing a lot of the women who are seeking safety at our shelter also are having substance use. As of a few years ago, we've slowly started to switch our model to allow some forms of substance use within our shelter, but we've kind of done that flailing. So, we are going to be using this money to do some significant training for our staff who are working on the front lines with these clients, to update our policy to reflect that, and to do some serious education within our staff to start for some of the biases that we have about substance use, and hopefully we can translate that into our community."
When addressing the idea of biases, Gerbrandt explained why women may be using a substance.
"Women are either using substances as a way to cope. They're not able to find other healthy or what we would consider to be more healthy ways to cope. But also, substances are being used by the abuser to control. So, when we limit admittance into the shelter for an individual who is using or has been using within a certain period of time, we are allowing them to continue to be at risk when our main goal as an organization is to empower survivors of abuse."
She explained why it's important to make this change, in light of the work they do.
"When women are under the influence of some form of substance, whether that actually be legal or an illegal substance, we know they're at an increased risk of violence from their abuser. We know that her senses might be dulled, and it's harder for her to even gauge her safety in a situation and know when it's time to maybe leave, which can really increase the lethality of the violence that's going on."
Some changes have started already.
"We've already made the transition over the last year to be double staffed at all times to help address this, just so that everyone has a backup. There's not just one staff member in the shelter at a time. That's just the beginning, though. We're excited to see how this new position will help us grow as an organization and expand our reach."
The transition to a low barrier model is already making a difference.
"The slight changes we've made already in allowing women to come in to shelter if they have used within X-number of days, it actually just has opened up conversations. Because before, we're not drug testing when women come into shelter. So, in some ways it helps us as staff know what we're dealing with because we're not saying, 'Sorry, you can't come in because of this,' but it's saying, 'Ok, can you tell us more about this so we can all be on the same page and help you work through this together?'"
When asked if this amount of money will sustain the project, Gerbrandt had this to say,
"In my personal opinion. We think if we are transitioning to this model of being low barrier, we are going to continue to need more staffing because it's a complex issue. Abuse already is a complex issue, and this is just another thing to add into the mix. So, we'll have to wait and see what that looks like in the coming years but for now, we've committed to hiring someone on for 18 months to two years to help us in this new learning."
Both federal and provincial ministers were not available for comment but had this to say in the July 22nd press release:
“To work towards a future free from gender-based violence, our government is supporting community-driven actions in Manitoba,” said Ien. “By investing over $6.2 million in 2024-25, we are empowering Manitoban organizations to lead the way forward in preventing and addressing gender-based violence. Together with the Manitoba government, we are implementing the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence to ensure safety, support and justice for all.”
“We need to put a stop to gender-based violence in our homes and communities, and make sure survivors have the supports they need,” said Fontaine. “We are taking action to ensure there are more supports for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, working with communities to break cycles of violence, and supporting Indigenous-led and community-informed approaches to address gender-based violence across Manitoba.”