Province invests $1.46M into gender-based violence programming

New provincial funding will help people fleeing violence with housing, time off work, and pet care. Wayne Mantyka reports.

Emergency shelter is a priority for people fleeing interpersonal violence, but other challenges, including care for pets, can make leaving unsafe situations much more difficult.

Crystal Giesbrecht of the Provincial Association of Transition Houses of Saskatchewan said some shelters are pet-friendly, but not all.

“Often the case that victims and survivors are the ones who have to move, have to look for new housing, and if someone can’t take their pet to a domestic violence shelter, some shelters in the province are pet friendly which is really wonderful. Not all of them are,” she said.

The federal and provincial governments have allocated an additional $1.4 million to help remove barriers for those leaving unsafe homes. Of that, $100,000 provincewide is specifically earmarked for pet care.

Under the program, pets are temporarily placed in foster care until their families are settled in a safe home as pets can complicate leaving an unsafe situation.

“They can’t leave because they are afraid to leave their pet alone,” said Bill Thorn of the Regina Humane Society. “It gives them an opportunity to leave that situation, take the pet with them. And also, pets can be used as a tool by an abuser, maybe threatened if the person doesn’t comply.”

He added pets are placed in temporary foster care, not in shelters, while their families secure a safe home, with only the animal protection officer and the foster coordinator knowing the location.

The Government of Saskatchewan announced a further $1.46 million in funding towards 10 organizations and programs supporting the victims of gender-based violence in the province on Tuesday.

The funding flows through the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence and is based on each organization’s alignment with the five pillars of the action plan including foundational knowledge; support for survivors and their families; prevention; responsive justice system; and Indigenous-led approaches; and social infrastructure and enabling environment.

The organizations chosen include:

• Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan (PATHS) ($280,000);
• Saskatchewan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) ($250,000);
• Anchor & Thread Community Services Inc. ($100,000);
• Regina Transition House ($100,000);
• United Way of Regina ($50,000);
• Coalition of Regional Sexual Assault Centres Inc. ($50,000);
• Sexual Assault Services of Saskatchewan (SASS) ($248,000);
• Rapport Clinical Consulting Group ($140,000);
• Buffalo Narrows Friendship Centre ($192,000); and
• Muskoday First Nation ($47,000).

In total, the province has invested around $7 million into the national action plan through the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General.