Families First Society seeing high increase in family violence prevention program

Since 2020, Families First Society has noticed an increase in referrals to their Family Violence Prevention Program (FVPP).

Many referrals into the FVPP involve participants looking for long-term housing, and not necessarily a women's shelter.

"70 to 80 per cent of those women that we serve do require that long-term housing, and that's what prevents them from leaving," said Jacqueline Dagneau, executive director of Families First Society. "They think 'well, I could go to a shelter, but that's typically a 21-day stay. What am I going to do after that?'."

Between 2020 and 2021, FVPP noticed a 130 per cent increase in referrals and a 40 per cent increase in the year after.

Families First Society has been trying to help those in need through several initiatives, including the newly announced Healing Homes, the first second-stage housing in Fort Saskatchewan.

Originally, investors Steve Switzer and Mike Hankirk had proposed bringing a women's shelter to Fort but decided on second-stage housing when they discovered only a small percentage of women were looking for emergency shelters and that there were also women's shelters in the area, such as A Safe Place in Sherwood Park, that offer emergency shelter for residents of Fort Saskatchewan.