This story is part of The Big Spend, a CBC News investigation examining the unprecedented $240 billion the federal government handed out during the first eight months of the pandemic.
In the early weeks of COVID-19’s arrival in Canada, Kaitlin Geiger-Bardswich and her colleagues worked overtime trying to support front-line workers in a very different sort of pandemic.
They were dispersing support to shelters working against what some have called the “shadow pandemic” — domestic violence affecting women isolating in their homes with an abusive partner.
“As only five people, we were a small but mighty team,” said Geiger-Bardswich, “and we could do it if we put in a bit of the extra effort.”
Geiger-Bardswich is the communications lead for Women’s Shelters Canada, the national network of shelters and transition houses for women and children fleeing violence in their homes.
A week after the pandemic took hold in Canada, WSC received a call from the federal Department for Women and Gender Equality. The federal government wanted WSC to distribute $20.5 million in aid money to roughly 500 domestic violence shelters across the country.
WSC is not normally a funding agency so the request was new territory for its staff. But the organization had the most complete list of contacts for shelters and the best relationship with shelter organizations across the country.
“They came to us knowing that we would probably most easily get that money out as quickly as possible,” said Geiger-Bardswich.
“It was the largest amount of money we’d ever received in our bank account.”
A network of contacts
Working from home, WSC staff were able to connect with shelters and make sure each organization understood what it needed to do to be accountable for the money. The application process was short and didn’t attach a lot of strings to how the shelters could spend the money.
A survivor named Michelle (last name kept private) is pictured at a transition house in Langley, B.C., on Friday, February 28, 2020. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC) (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
“We wanted to do it because we knew the funding was so important for shelters. It was really important to get it out quickly,” said Geiger-Bardswich.
The reason for that, she said, was because WSC knew the shelters were in full crisis mode. They needed the money as early as April.
Shelters in Quebec and those that fell under the mandate of Indigenous Services Canada also received funds, but through a different process.
Quebec’s provincial government opted to manage the distribution to its shelters rather than use the WSC process, and signed an agreement with the federal government on April 21, with funds set to flow later that month or in early May.
On average, the Quebec shelters received their money about a month later than the ones in the WSC distribution, said Geiger-Bardswich.
Immediate needs
A survey of 266 WSC member shelters released in late November indicated almost 60 per cent of shelters reported calls went down in the first three months of the pandemic, but increased as lockdown restrictions started to lift.
The shelters don’t believe the decrease in calls happened because of less violence in the home, but rather the opposite: women were unable to call for help or leave because an abuser was present more often. Women also reported being afraid to leave their homes due to COVID-19 concerns.
Kristal LeBlanc is the CEO of the Beauséjour Family Crisis Resource Centre, which provides emergency housing for domestic violence victims and services for survivors of sexual assault. (CBC)
At the Beauséjour Family Crisis Resource Centre in Shediac, N.B., CEO Kristal LeBlanc said it’s already hard to reach victims of domestic violence under normal circumstances, let alone during a pandemic.
“Imagine if they’re not able to leave the house and the perpetrator is there, they’re making a phone call to us and hiding in their closet. So it becomes really difficult,” she said.
Sometimes during the lockdown, staff were unable to reach victims for pre-arranged virtual appointments and were left wondering what was happening.
“We had to understand that if we had an appointment at two o’clock and that victim didn’t call, something changed in that home where it was no longer safe for her to call,” LeBlanc said.
“That can be really scary for us, too, because if she was at a high risk of homicide, we had concerns that, you know, was she murdered?”
Approximately half of the shelters surveyed reported more severe attacks upon those women who did make it to the shelters. Some shelters reported increases in stabbing, strangulation and broken bones.
Shelters also reported abusers were using “coercive control” more often during the pandemic; manipulating a victim by controlling their movements, isolating them or limiting their access to money.
Spending the money
Women’s Shelters Canada handed out the money in two stages, with every shelter receiving a base amount of $32,000. Some shelters that offered long-term housing qualified for an additional $2,000 per long-term unit.
Money left over from the first round was divided among shelters who said the initial allotment wasn’t sufficient to meet their needs. In total, about 575 shelters received between $32,000 and $90,000 each, depending on their services.
Shiva Nourpanah is the co-ordinator of the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia, a group of 11 shelters for women and children leaving domestic violence. (Shaina Luck/CBC)
“It was historic, where they had this money and needed to disperse it to all the shelters across Canada. It was a unique process,” said Shiva Nourpanah, the co-ordinator of the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia.
“We were able to do it very smoothly and efficiently, and the money did flow.”
Many shelters used the money to bolster their staffing, or to find emergency housing for families who couldn’t be accommodated in the regular shelters because of physical distancing.
Of those who responded to WSC’s survey, 64 per cent established an isolation unit off-site at a hotel or motel. More than 80 per cent of the shelters surveyed bought new technology like tablets, phones and laptops to connect with victims.
There is more money to come before Christmas, after the federal government announced a further $50 million for organizations that work against gender-based violence. Women’s Shelters Canada is responsible for dispersing $15.7 million of that, and shelters will have until the end of September 2021 to spend the money.
Provincial funding for some
Some provinces were quick to offer funding as well, said Nourpanah.
“It’s a time of crisis and darkness, but I think people showed up for us,” she said of the first wave of the pandemic in the spring. “So that was really good. Both levels of government and also individual people, and business community members.”
But as grateful as shelters are for the emergency boost in funding in the spring and the next round of federal funding to come, they have concerns about surviving without ongoing, sustainable funding.
No shelters can hold traditional fundraising events this year. Almost 40 per cent of the shelters that answered WSC’s survey reported they’d fundraised “significantly less” due to the pandemic.
A 16-bed crisis shelter in Melfort, Sask., which opened to clients in 2016. (CBC News)
“Women who have been working in this sector for 30, 40 years, they talk about not having seen this kind of attention, for which we’re very grateful,” said Nourpanah. “But this sector should not have been so underfunded to start with.”
LeBlanc said she feels it should be a continuing federal and provincial government response, not a one-time boost.
“There hasn’t really been that conversation around sustainability,” she said.
“At the end of the day, if charities have to start to close their doors and shut down — much like some of the private businesses — the government’s going to be in a lot of trouble,” she said.
HOUSTON (AP) — Brian White scored in the second half to rally the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night.
Houston (12-9-8) took a 1-0 lead into halftime after Ezequiel Ponce scored on a penalty kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Ponce’s third goal this season came after Amine Bassi drew a foul on Whitecaps midfielder Pedro Vite following a video review. It was Ponce’s sixth career appearance, all starts.
Vancouver (13-8-7) scored the equalizer in the 73rd minute when White, who entered in the 60th, used assists from Fafá Picault and Ryan Gauld to find the net for the 13th time this season. Picault’s assist was his fifth, matching his career high for a single season. Gauld’s assist gives him a career-best 13 on the season.
Yohei Takaoka, who had clean sheets in his last three starts, finished with one save in goal for the Whitecaps.
Steve Clark saved three shots for the Dynamo, who remain one point behind Vancouver in the Western Conference standings.
Houston, which was coming off a 4-1 victory over Real Salt Lake, has allowed just 33 goals this season.
Vancouver — 6-2-2 in its last 10 matches overall — leads the all-time series 10-9-6.
The Whitecaps remain on the road to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday. The Dynamo travel to play Austin FC on Saturday.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Pearce and Nathan Saliba scored in the second half — the first goals of their careers — and CF Montreal rallied for a 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution on Wednesday night.
“In the second half, the guys came out a little more ambitious and above all, more connected,” Montreal head coach Laurent Courtois said. “It was a great second half of resilience and fighting spirit. Nathan and Sam were impressive.
“Impressive in covering the gaps and compensating for the teammates, and the individual defending – yes it’s true, it is a lot of weight on their shoulders, but that’s the job.”
New England (8-16-4) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute on Bobby Wood’s third goal of the season. Teenage defender Peyton Miller notched his first assist in his fourth career start and sixth appearance and Carles Gil picked up his ninth of the season. Peyton, at 16 years, 315 days old, is the eighth youngest player in league history to record his first assist.
The Revolution took a two-goal lead in the 35th minute and held it through halftime when 19-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic took a pass from Gil and scored his third goal of the season and career in his first full season in the league. It was the 73rd regular-season assist in Gil’s career, tying him with Steve Ralston for the most in club history.
Montreal (7-12-10) pulled within a goal in the 54th minute when Pearce scored off a free kick after defender George Campbell drew a foul on New England’s Mark-Anthony Kaye. It was the first goal for Pearce in his third career start and fourth appearance.
“Playoffs are the goal. Maybe it wasn’t in the best form, but in the end, we are picking up a point,” Pearce said. “We came into this game confident, ready to play our own game. Everyone tries their best, whenever the players are called on, we are always ready, and we are always giving it our best.”
Montreal scored the equalizer in the 68th minute on the first career goal by Saliba, a 20-year-old midfielder. Saliba has made 34 starts and 48 appearances with Montreal in his two seasons in the league. Campbell snagged his second assist of the season and the third of his career.
“It’s an incredible feeling, it’s a goal I’ve been waiting for a long time. I’m extremely happy that I was able to score it and that it can help the team take this important point on the road,” Saliba said. “Pearce’s first goal gave us really good momentum and we kept up the pressure to go for a second goal. We got more solid defensively, and we came back ready after halftime, to push for these 3 points.”
Aljaz Ivacic finished with four saves in goal for the Revolution.
Jonathan Sirois stopped four shots for Montreal.
New England beat Montreal 5-0 on the road on Aug. 24.
New England leads the all-time series 16-13-4. Montreal improves to 5-8-2 on the road against the Revs.
The Revolution travel to take on Charlotte FC on Saturday. Montreal returns home to host the Chicago Fire on Saturday.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Adolis García hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning, Cody Bradford pitched seven strong innings after the worst start of his career, and the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 on Wednesday night.
The win kept the defending World Series-champion Rangers alive in the AL West race, trailing first-place Houston by 10 games with 10 to play.
García launched an inside sinker over the left-field wall off Toronto starter Bowden Francis (8-5) after Wyatt Langford singled.
“He swings hard, he swings a lot,” Francis said of García. “I guess the velo was dropping during that time.”
Bradford (6-3) allowed five hits and no walks while striking out six.
The seven shutout innings are the most in a game during his two-year career. He was knocked out of his previous start after allowing career highs in hits (nine), runs (eight) and homers (three) in 3 2/3 innings in a 14-4 loss at Arizona.
“Throughout the week, you’ve got to try and digest what happened, see where I can make adjustments, whether it was just game plan went wrong or just poor execution, or a little bit of both,” Bradford said. “Then you flush it.”
Bradford was perfect through four innings before Alejandro Kirk opened the fifth with a smash back to the mound that caromed off Bradford’s left foot and rolled into right field for a single. It extended Kirk’s hitting streak to a career-high 12 games.
Spencer Horwitz’s double to left-center put runners on second and third with no outs before Bradford retired the next three batters.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider credited Bradford’s “deceptive fastball.”
“When you’re throwing 89, 92, you’ve got to have pretty good deception with that at this level,” Schneider said. “Kept us off balance.”
Kirby Yates pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 31st save in 32 opportunities.
Francis, who took no-hitters into the ninth inning in two of his previous four starts, allowed a double to Marcus Semien, the Rangers’ first hitter of the game. He gave up five hits and one walk in six innings.
Francis has a 1.96 ERA in nine starts with 54 strikeouts and seven walks since being moved back into the starting rotation in late July.
“I don’t even want to get complacent, on cruise control,” Francis said. “Just keep attacking.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette was a late scratch with a right middle finger contusion suffered during infield practice. Schneider said the team will get back x-rays on Thursday. Bichette was activated Tuesday following a calf injury and played for the first time in two months, going 2 for 5 with one RBI at the plate. … INF Will Wagner (left knee inflammation) will have the knee scoped on Thursday. Schneider said Wagner should be ready to start spring training. Wagner, son of former major leaguer Billy Wagner, was acquired from Houston at the trade deadline.
UP NEXT
Rangers rookie RHP Kumar Rocker (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will make his home debut against Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman (12-11, 4.02) in the series finale. Rocker allowed one run in four innings at Seattle last Thursday in his major league debut.
