The Niagara Falls shelter says recent fundraiser helped, as they see rise in family violence
Roughly $200,000 raised at this year's Book Ride sale for Birchway Niagara, and organizers couldn't be more pleased.
Executive Director Jennifer Gauthier says it costs roughly $55,000 a year to run one shelter bed, last year they helped about 300 women and children.
Sadly, she says they're seeing an increase in violence, including strangulation. "But the stresses on the family are high, and this is when we often see an increase in family breakdown, and family violence, is when families are under a lot of stress. The continued cost of living is somewhat nearing the pandemic."
She adds they unfortunately have had to turn some people away.
They're also trying to get ahead of the problem. "Because we can't keep filling these beds. There has to be work done downstream to support women and men when they're younger, when they've experienced violence, or if they've grown up in violence, so they don't continue this cycle of abuse."
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