'We are in a new reality': No end to demand at Waterloo sex assault centre
Centre offered sexual assault counselling to 690 people in 2018-2019
Staff and volunteers at the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region are adjusting to a new reality, where the organization's executive director says a level of demand for service that would have previously been seen as a crisis is now simply business as usual.
The demand is reflected in numbers from the organization's 2018-2019 annual report, released this month.
Over the last year, the report said SASC received 1243 calls for support—up from 1190 the previous year. A total of 690 people received individual counselling—up from 391 the year before.
And that's not even counting those on the wait list, which executive director Sara Casselman said has crept above 200 people at times and is now hovering at 140.
"Numbers are generally up across the board," said Casselman.
"There was a significant jump this year and the reality is, we've been working really hard to find the resources to meet the demand."
The centre's anti-human trafficking program has also seen steady demand, with more than 140 calls and 61 clients served in the course of the 2018-2019 year.
Stability uncertain
As the phone continues to ring, Casselman said a lack of stable funding is making it difficult for the organization to plan for the future.
In February, the province announced a review of funding for victims' services that put a hold on money that was expected to help pay for two new counsellors. The anti-human trafficking program is also funded through the province until March 2020, Casselman said.
Casselman said the centre is filling the gaps with community donations, but that this "bits and pieces" approach isn't the same as a guaranteed, steady source of funding, given the demand the organization is seeing.
"It is a new world when we're talking about sexual violence," she said.
In an email statement sent to CBC, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Attorney General said the government has begun its work on the victim services review and that more information will be shared as it moves forward.
The spokesperson also noted that SASC is to receive more funding for the coming year. It is set to receive $467,766 in 2019-2020—up from $438,981 the year before.
Casselman said the one-time increase of just under $30,000 falls short of the annualized funding promised by the previous government, but that the money, in combination with another grant, will allow the group to hire a workshop coordinator on a one-year contract.