As COVID-19 cases climb, calls to P.E.I. women's shelter drop

It's not the problem most would think of — people who run a women's shelter in Charlottetown say they are concerned because of a recent, sharp drop in crisis calls. 

The trouble is, they know the need still exists - but women just might be too afraid of COVID-19 to ask for help. 

"Generally, we receive a certain number of crisis calls a month. Those are people calling, actively in crisis, often looking to come in, with a really high risk, high severity of what they are going through right now," said Danya O'Malley, executive director of P-E-I Family Violence Prevention Services.  

"As we saw in the first lockdown in 2020, those calls dropped off very sharply when fear of COVID was very high." 

Only seven people called for help in the first few months of the pandemic in 2020. 

In the few months that followed, the line took 67 crisis calls. She said calls stabilized in the months that followed, as waves of COVID subsided. 

Now, calls have dropped by half again. 

O'Malley says she has talked to her counterparts in Nova Scotia, and the case is the same there

"We know people are currently living with their abuser, we know that during the pandemic and during times of high stress that abuse worsens," she said. "We know there are people living in risk and perhaps being harmed in their homes."

She said people feel vulnerable when cases are high and they are facing the prospect of living with people they don't know. 

People just hold steady at home, but home might not be very safe for them either.- Danya O'Malley, executive director, P.E.I. Family Violence Prevention Services

However, O'Malley said, there are ways to get help — other than coming into the shelter. 

Women can call or text on the crisis and information line. It operates around the clock and is confidential. Those numbers are 902- 892-0960 and 1-800-240-9894.

There's also a chat bubble on their website. If a woman needs to shut down the conversation quickly, it disappears when the web page is closed.  

For those who do come in, O'Malley said Anderson House is large and people are able to distance themselves from each other. Everyone at Anderson House has their own room and the shelter has many protocols in place to prevent an outbreak. 

"Reach out to us, and try to problem solve in the way that best meets your needs," she said. "When you establish that relationship, you start to build trust and you start to be able to see possibilities for yourself outside the dangerous situation you are in."

The recent outbreaks in shelters in P.E.I. makes people even more afraid, said O'Malley.

"People just hold steady at home," she said. "But home might not be very safe for them either."