Today is Giving Tuesday Now, a new global day of giving and unity in an emergency response to the needs created by COVID-19. Discovery House is also launching a month-long fundraising campaign for the Discovery House COVID-19 Emergency Fund used to help women and children escape and recover from domestic violence during these challenging times.
“By donating on Giving Tuesday Now we can help our community’s most vulnerable who are struggling through this pandemic,” says Monique Auffrey, CEO of Discovery House. " In the next month, Discovery House will be running a month-long COVID-19 Emergency Campaign to bring public awareness to the increase in domestic violence during isolation. In Alberta, we are seeing a rise in family violence related to our economic downturn and job layoffs, now further exacerbated by COVID-19. We can’t ignore the dangerous situation the women and children in our community are now facing.”
For some women, isolation at home is traumatic, dangerous, even deadly.
“We know through research and experience that in times of isolation, financial loss and emotional distress, domestic violence increases both in numbers and intensity," says Esther Elder, Senior Director of Programs and Operations. “Through the support of Giving Tuesday Now and our COVID-19 Emergency Fund, we can continue to provide supportive housing and trauma-informed programming to our clients, so they start to rebuild their lives.”
For the last forty years, each year Discovery House has helped approximately 600 women and families escape family violence. They provide transitional housing and wrap-around support so that their clients can heal from their trauma, achieve self-sufficiency, and break the cycle of domestic violence.
For further information or to make a financial donation to Discovery House, please visit www.discoveryhouse.ca/covid-19 for more details.