Heartfelt plea

Dear editor:
Women’s emergency shelters in Ontario have been under a funding freeze since 2009.
The proposed provincial budget would have provided $15 million over three years to fill the gap. However, with the election being called, shelters across the province are concerned those dollars and promises may be forgotten.
Women fleeing abuse require a safe and secure refuge where they can begin to piece their lives back together.
The Auditor General found that thousands of women could not get the support they required due to a lack of resources. This has got to change.
No funding increases since 2009—despite the fact that service levels have increased and the law that requires a minimum of a one percent increase to salaries for pay equity purposes—means that budgets have depleted.
Our agency ended the fiscal year of March 31, 2014 with an $8,000 deficit.
A recent RCMP report found that 1,186 aboriginal women are missing and believed murdered in Canada. We know shelters provide a vital service; however, our deficits are never funded for we are not considered by the government to be a mandated service.
This cannot continue. Ontario women’s shelters are in crisis.
We ask that each of the party candidates running in the upcoming provincial election consider this serious matter and, should your party be successful, bring these concerns to the legislature to help us resolve this problem.
On behalf of abused women and their children of Rainy River District, we thank you for taking the time to seriously consider this heartfelt plea.
Sincerely,
Donna Kroocmo,
Executive Director,
R.R. District Women’s
Shelter of Hope