Women fleeing domestic violence in Mission and Abbotsford were turned away from transition houses in high numbers last year with capacity limits plaguing the region.
SARA For Women executive director Michelle Puffer began her role in the summer of 2022 and was shocked at the number of women and children seeking housing that weren’t able to find it. SARA is a non-profit society that provides safe refuge and resources for women in Mission and Abbotsford.
“If [women] make the decision to leave, it’s really hard for us if we can’t find them somewhere to go. It’s heartbreaking,” Puffer said.
In 2022, 684 women were turned away from SARA transition homes in Mission while 740 women and 375 children were turned away in Abbotsford.
“We all try to work together but there’s just no space,” Puffer said. “Often that means women in domestic violence situations are staying with their abuser, because there’s just nowhere else for them to go and keep their kids safe.”
The number of turnaways in Mission rose from 2021, when 321 women and 421 children were turned away from transition homes.
“In Mission, probably more than anywhere else, there is no housing,” Puffer said. “Everybody is at capacity. We all work together — we will go out to Maple Ridge or Chilliwack — we’ll go wherever we need to go to try and find [women] space, if we can give them space. It is not always easy.”
At the end of 2022, SARA’s waitlist for its 18-month transitional housing program in Abbotsford totalled 186.
“One of the biggest things we’re also seeing is that women won’t leave their pets behind,” Puffer said. “They’re worried that pets will be killed if they leave them. So we’re finding the need to be able to house their pets with them, which is also very difficult.”
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SARA will add 12 more suites in Abbotsford in the spring, but Puffer says the added space will provide little relief to the long waitlists.
In Mission, the nonprofit’s grant application to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Women and Children’s Shelter and Transitional Housing Initiative for the Santa Rosa redevelopment project was declined in September.
BC Housing also decided to put their west-of-downtown project on hold to focus on the Santa Rosa site, given the unsuccessful grant application and the technical challenges of developing the west site.
“It wasn’t an ideal location and the neighbours were up in arms,” Puffer said. “I don’t think they realized who was actually going to be living there. I think everybody gets a bit gun-shy about the homeless population or what they consider shelters, but these women are only homeless by the virtue that they’ve left a domestic violence partner.”
The Santa Rosa facility in Mission shut down on Christmas Eve and was forced to evacuate when melted water caved in some of the walls of the building. The women staying at the location were relocated to the Best Western in Mission along with SARA’s transitional house.
The damages to the facility left it inhabitable but SARA is still paying the mortgage on the empty space. The nonprofit hopes to knock the Santa Rosa building down and build a long-term facility with 50 suites — a mix of studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms.
“We still have plans to build a brand-new building there,” Puffer said. “We’re held up on the money side of things and that’s what we’re looking into right now.”
Puffer says it’s been a tough year financially for the organization and its programs aren’t where they should be. Rising costs of food and rent are impacting SARA as well.
“It’s tougher for our clients to survive — even those that are in their own rooms — and it’s making it more difficult for us to be able to provide for them,” she said. “Right now, most people who rent basement suites only want a single working person. They don’t want you to have kids and they certainly don’t want you to have pets.”
After donations peaked during the holiday season, Puffer says this time of year is tight. SARA is low on diapers, formula, personal care products, and underwear for women.
@dillon_white
dillon.white@missioncityrecord.com
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