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Manitoba program aimed at preventing domestic violence seeing success

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A two-year trial program aimed at preventing domestic violence is being made permanent.

During the pandemic, the number of domestic violence cases increases, so a 2021 pilot program aimed at preventing incidents from escalating was put in place. Now the program is being made permanent.

"We came up with this phrase ‘safe at home,’ and for many people we know that home is not a safe place," said Families Minister Rochelle Squires.

The program involves having three Victim Services staff members from Manitoba Justice stationed at the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters.

Their job is to work with officers on how to best respond to domestic calls of a non-criminal nature.

In a lot of the cases, the victims are simply looking for information or referrals for services like shelters or compensation programs.

"We attempted to divert the calls out of the queue where people only need advice and direction,” said Insp. Eric Luke of the Winnipeg Police Service.

The province and police say instead of waiting for help, which could take days, it's now provided within hours.

The team handles around 12,000 non-criminal domestic incidents annually, with around 700 of those directed through the pilot program.

"Domestic violence calls are the highest received by Victim Services and this is a much needed alternative response to meet those needs,” said Misty Bousquet of Victim Services Manitoba.

The Manitoba Association of Women's Shelters is encouraged by the news that the program is now permanent

"We knew that it was going very well, we saw that it was effective," said Amrita Chavan with the Manitoba Association of Women’s Shelters.

However, Chavan said all levels of government need to do more to prevent gender-based violence by boosting core funding for frontline agencies and adding additional safe affordable housing options for survivors.

"For them to truly heal and move on to their journey towards empowerment they need to have housing," Chavan said.

The province said it has increased shelter funding from $6 million to $15 million, and has created a gender-based violence framework.

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