Yellow Brick House unveiled its new donor wall to highlight the importance of funding shelters for domestic violence survivors.
With its shelters in Richmond Hill and Markham, Yellow Brick House serves abused women and children across York Region, but CEO Lorris Herenda said there’s an ongoing need for funding to sustain the services and support the organization provides.
“The reality is, without the long-term operational funding we've been working toward, and have asked for, 16 beds and three cribs will need to close, leaving women and children without the lifesaving options they need to survive,” she said.
Yellow Brick House’s reach goes beyond the shelter locations with 21 per cent of crisis line calls coming from the GTA, 12 per cent from Toronto, 10 per cent from Newmarket, and 22 per cent from out of province.
“We opened our Markham shelter 11 years ago and we haven’t been receiving sustainable funding from the provincial government,” said Herenda. “We rely on the generosity of community donors to actually keep shelter beds open and our doors open.”
According to Herenda, in Canada, a woman or child is murdered every 2-1/2 days as a result of gender-based violence and that’s why Yellow Brick House is calling for support through funding, pledging, and speaking with local MPs, MPPs and municipal governments to stress the importance of keeping these shelter beds open.
“We’ve never stopped advocating for the provincial government to increase our funding and give us sustainable funding for the number of beds and cribs that we offer,” she said. “We’re hoping all levels of government and the community will advocate on our behalf and put some pressure on. Until we’re able to secure that, we’re relying on the community to help us keep those beds open.”
Founded in 1978, Yellow Brick House supports more than 6,200 women and children annually through services and prevention programs to meet the needs of individuals, families and communities impacted by violence.
“Community fundraising doesn’t just allow us to provide more beds, but expand our community outreach and support services to work with families who are not necessarily staying in our shelter,” said Herenda. “We have 400 or so women and children going through our shelter per year, but we work with over 5,800 abused women and children who couldn’t get a shelter bed because we’re full.”
Between the two shelters, pre-pandemic, Yellow Brick House offers 41 beds and 10 cribs, but only received funding for about 25 of the beds. During the pandemic, shelter space was converted from congregate living into family units. As a result, capacity was reduced by 30 per cent.
Already struggling with not having enough shelter beds, Herenda says they’re quite concerned about what will happen with these families.
“We were able to secure federal funding last year to expand our Markham shelter, so we’ll be at our pre-pandemic capacity, but we still don’t have enough funding,” she said. “We’re asking people to pledge their support and sponsor a woman or child for an eight-week period, the average stay in our shelter.”
Announced in the provincial budget in March, starting in 2023-24, Ontario is investing an additional $202 million each year in the Homelessness Prevention Program, Indigenous Supportive Housing Program, in support of community organizations delivering housing to those experiencing or at risk of homelessness and those escaping intimate partner violence.
“That’s an over 40 per cent increase in funding supporting vulnerable people in our province,” said Nazaneen Baqizada, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
In February, the province announced it’s investing up to $6.5 million to help women and children who have experienced violence and are survivors of human trafficking access the support and services they need to stay safe and rebuild their lives.
“This investment will ensure women and children have access to timely and effective care, whether they live in a rural community or are concerned about the care their children will receive once they arrive at a shelter,” said Charmaine Williams, associate minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity, in a news release at the time.
Yellow Brick House’s budget is $5 million per year with just more than $2.5 million in funding coming from the provincial government. The organization also works on grant applications throughout the year to receive additional funding.
“On a rotating basis, I’m meeting with all 10 of our MPPs in York Region,” said Herenda. “They know our ask very clearly, I’ve gone to the premier's office and requested funding. We’ll fundraise all we can fundraise, but we’re also concerned with the economy and concerned with donor fatigue. People are struggling. There’s job and food security issues. That results in a reduction in donations. What’s the future look like if we’re not able to raise the money needed to keep those shelter beds open?”
Learn more about Yellow Brick House here.
