'The system is broken': Domestic violence survivor raises concerns about housing crisis

A domestic violence survivor is speaking out about the gaps in Waterloo Region’s shelter system.

The woman, whose identity has been concealed for safety reasons, has been staying at Anselma House for the past several months.

The Kitchener, Ont. shelter helps women and children trying to escape abusive situations.

“I thank them everyday,” the woman told CTV News. “They saved my life. When I went to them, I didn't think my life was worth saving.”

She said she was a different person when she first arrived at Anselma House.

“Nervous. No confidence at all. Scared of my shadow,” she admitted. “Broken. I was broken.”

The woman had been in an abusive relationship for more than five years but she finally got away after many dangerous altercations.

“I was in a place where I couldn't get away from him. Where he has talked about ending my life, where he's going to bury my body,” she said.

Anselma House

Anselma House assists hundreds of women and their children every year. Staff usually only take clients in for three months but said, due to the housing crisis, extensions are common.

“I have to leave because of the system. The system is broken,” the woman told CTV News. “There's no transition housing for women, for single women. There is for families, which is fantastic. But we're kind of falling through the cracks with single women.”

Jennifer Hutton is the CEO of Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region (WCSWR), which run both Anselma House and Haven House, a 45-bed shelter in Cambridge, Ont.

WCSWR is trying to help fill the gaps in the system.

“We are advocating for more affordable and transitional housing options in Waterloo Region to ensure clients can safely transition out of emergency shelters and into independence,” she said. “Not only would this greatly assist families who are ready to move on from the shelter, it would also free up emergency shelter space for the many individuals who desperately need it.”

What’s next?

The woman said she’s on a waitlist for affordable housing in Waterloo Region.

It’s been a year and so far, no luck.

“Women who have gone through this are doing their best to start over and start fresh and we're being cut off at the knees, basically, because who's going to leave? I would have stayed. I would have stayed had I known this was my future. At least I would have had a home,” she told CTV News.

She worried her only option will be living on the streets but wouldn’t feel safe there because of her past trauma.

“I don't want to be homeless. I've lost enough, I think. And now I'm at risk of that.”

Her only hope is that she doesn’t get back to a dark place.

“When I look into his face when he's in that moment. It's terrifying. It's crippling. It's like he's not even there,” she said.

CTV News reached out to the Region of Waterloo for comment on the affordable housing situation but did not hear back by our deadline.