While we are being encouraged to stay home during this pandemic to keep ourselves and others safe, it’s a different story for people living with abuse or domestic violence. Their home is not safe. When Madawaska Valley resident Terry Newcombe heard a radio interview with the Family & Children’s Services of Renfrew County, he was prompted to take action. He decided to buy ads in local media (The Current, Valley Gazette, MooseFM) to draw attention to the 24-hour Crisis Line provided by Bernadette McCann House (BMH):
613-732-3131 or simply text 613-602-6588
Newcombe said he learned from the radio program that requests for help in domestic abuse situations had gone up in the cities like Renfrew and Pembroke, but had actually gone down in more-isolated rural areas like ours. They attributed this to women in smaller communities feeling they had nowhere to escape to. He said, “The thought of so many women, and possibly children, trapped in a house with a violent partner greatly upset me, so I thought these ads would let them know they do have a safer option.”
Frances Priest of BMH provided The Current with some information about domestic abuse here in Renfrew County, following a presentation they gave in Barry’s Bay last fall. Long before people were trapped indoors because of the pandemic, these figures paint a stark picture. Between April 2018 and March 2019
- 74 women and 69 children were admitted to BMH
- Crisis Line received 1,084 calls
- 102 Day Assessments were carried out
How serious is domestic abuse?
- There are approximately 25 female victims of Spousal Homicide each year in Ontario
- Every 6 days, a woman in Canada is killed by her partner
- 70 percent of spousal violence is not reported to police
- 4 billion dollars each year is spent in spousal violence alone
Personal experience
He became bothered by the radio interview, said Newcombe, because his own wife’s death was tied to domestic abuse, from her former husband. He explained that she suffered violent, sexual and psychological abuse and had felt trapped because they lived in a different city from her family. While she did get free after some years and moved back to Ottawa with her family, she didn’t receive any kind of counselling, “She just buried everything and moved on.” He said that after they met, they had fifteen wonderful years together, but then “a mid-life crisis brought back the memories full force, and she drank to bury them once more. Again and again. It took eleven painful years of failed treatments before the alcoholism killed her.”
His message
“For anyone facing domestic abuse, be it physical or emotional, know that help is available — now!” says Newcombe. “Bernadette McCann House can not only help you get somewhere safe so you can rebuild your life. They can also help you deal with all the emotional effects of the abuse, without it smouldering inside you to surface again some time down the road.”
Their services include a 16-bed shelter, 24-hour crisis support line, outreach programs for women and children, as well as family court, transitional, and also child and youth programs.
If you or someone you know needs help, maybe struggling to connect with services, or believe they are not safe, call the Crisis Support Line at 613-732-3131 or simply text 613-602-6588. For more information, please visit the Bernadette McCann House website at www.wsssbmh.org