Sussex shelter unveils housing for women fleeing violence
'Second-stage housing' will support survivors after staying in emergency shelter
After eight years of planning and a year of construction, the Sussex region will finally have affordable temporary housing for survivors of intimate partner violence.
Sussex Vale Transition House, an emergency shelter for women and children fleeing domestic violence in southern New Brunswick, unveiled the new five-unit building on Wednesday, with families expected to move in as soon as January.
The new building is considered "second-stage housing" — a step between an emergency shelter and permanent housing for survivors who need time to find employment and get back on their feet.
Julie Matthews, executive director of Sussex Vale Transition House, said women see the highest risk of death at the hands of a partner in the months after they flee. Having a stable, safe place to stay is essential to their recovery, she said.
"To be in a safe housing environment allows each person to be able to really focus on growing," she said, "whether it's perhaps furthering their education, becoming more employable, healing from their own personal trauma from living through abuse."
Rent will be geared to income and people can stay for up to two years, Matthews said. The building will also have a children's play room, a common room with a kitchen, laundry facilities, office space and there will be an outdoor community space.
To be eligible, she said people would have to apply or be referred. Sussex Vale will conduct interviews to make sure the person meets the criteria, which includes being willing to participate in every part of the program offered by Matthews's organization, including one-on-one counselling sessions and weekly group support meetings.
"It's not simply a housing program that we offer, it's a family violence program," she said.
Matthews said her organization serves about 3,000 square kilometres of rural King's County, but people have come from all over the province to ask for help. She said they help about 60 women a year and often have to direct people to other shelters when they're at capacity.
While the new units do not expand the emergency shelter's capacity, she said, it gives the people who stay in them a better chance at gaining independence.
The exact location of the building is kept secret to protect the safety of future residents. The new building will have a fence surrounding it and an electric gate at the front.
There are also security cameras on the property, an intercom at the main door and key card access for doors and common areas.
Community support and fundraising
Matthews said the organization needed $2.8 million for the project and they have been fundraising for ir since 2016. They raised more than $1 million from the community, and the rest came from provincial, federal and municipal grants, as well as grants from foundations and non-profit organizations.
"Our town really has thrown their support behind the transition house," she said. "You can really see that the people believe in the work that we do here."
Matthews said they still need $70,000 to complete the furnishing, and they hope they can raise that from the community. Otherwise, they will need to take out a line of credit and pay interest.
Matthews said her organization worked with Ottawa-based Women's Shelters Canada to find funding and manage the construction project.
Kyla Tanner, development project manager with Women's Shelters Canada, said they joined the project in 2023. She said Sussex Vale was chosen from several organizations that applied for their help because so much of the planning was already done.
"The fact that they even raised more than a third of the money on their own is huge. You don't always see that for other projects," she said.
A national report published Monday by Women's Shelters Canada found that shelter workers say it's becoming harder to support survivors seeking housing, while the length of emergency shelter stay increased by one to three months compared to last year.
Tanner said a 2020 report released by her organization shows that there are more than 124 second-stage shelters in Canada, which is still significantly less than the number of emergency shelters. In 2019, Tanner said her organization had been in touch with 290 emergency shelters, and the number has increased since then.
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