East-end Anova shelter upgrades security features thanks to provincial grant

Anova received an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant to help improve the shelter’s security system. CTV’s Sean Irvine explains.

A provincial grant will improve security around a London shelter protecting those threatened by gender-based violence.

Newly placed hi-tech cameras and security features have been added to the Anova shelter on Clarke Road.

The facility houses women and their children facing gender-based violence.

Security systems have changed since the facility opened in 2005, and so have the threats against it.

In recent years, concerns have escalated, according to Jessie Rodger, Anova’s executive director.

“In the last couple of years, we’ve seen the integrity of our space and the safety of our space be challenged a bit by folks who shouldn’t be coming into our space.”

But with the addition of the new cameras, the ability to see what’s outside the shelter has improved.

“It’s been pretty incredible to see the clarity of the photos, and the ability for us to identify fairly quickly if there is an issue around our perimeter,” said Rodger during a virtual news conference.

The $83,000 cost of the upgrades has been paid for through an Ontario Trillium Fund grant.

“This shelter is now even better equipped to provide the protection and peace of mind that every person seeking refuge deserves,” said London-Fanshawe MPP Teresa Armstrong.

The announcement comes on the heels of a much larger ask by Anova to replace its Wellington Road shelter.

The agency is in the early stages of a needs assessment for the project, estimated to cost in the “tens of millions” of dollars.

Rodger has stated that the Wellington Road Shelter, built in 1992, is “older” and “beginning to fall apart.”

A new space would increase the number of beds available and incorporate London’s sexual assault centre.