Quebec Shelters Over Capacity: It's a Problem 😬

Spilling the Tea

Okay, fam, listen up. The sitch in Quebec is not it. Women's shelters are packed, like, beyond capacity. These places are supposed to be safe spaces, but they're so full they gotta turn people away. SOS Violence Conjugale (the help hotline) is gettin' way more calls – like, requests for shelter jumped from 6-7k a year to over 19k. That's wild!

And here's the real tea: shelters used to be able to find spots for most women who called. Now? That referral success rate has gone down the drain. Like, from almost 76% to just over 50%. That's a major L. Imagine finally finding the courage to leave a bad situation and then getting turned away. It's straight up sus.

Some shelters are trying to level up, like The Shield of Athena, who are adding more beds and asking for donations for renovations. But even that's not enough, no cap.

Why the sudden spike? People are saying it's cuz more women are realizing they're in abusive situations, especially with the new laws against coercive control. So, awareness is up, but the resources aren't keeping pace. Quebec earmarked some cash to fight domestic violence, but some think it's a band-aid on a bullet wound.

The real struggle is that it's hard af to find a safe spot. Even if a spot exists, there can be language barriers, they may not have room for kids, and accessibility is a big issue. Then, once these women leave the shelter, there is minimal support for them.

And, low-key, the housing crisis is making everything worse. People are stuck in shelters longer 'cause they have nowhere else to go. This means we need more cash for social housing and legal help. But let's be real, the root cause of all this is sexism. Until we address that, this cycle is gonna keep repeating, and that's big sus.

Fun fact: In Montreal, over 20% of all violent crimes are related to domestic violence, and like, worldwide, 1 in 3 women experience violence. Let that sink in.