GTA non-profit serving IPV victims and survivors calls for sustainable government funding for sector

The York Region Centre for Community for Safety has launched a new initiative.

A Markham-based non-profit devoted to helping victims and survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) is sounding the alarm, calling on the province to make a sustainable funding commitment to organizations in this sector so they can continue their life-changing work.

Like many, the York Region Centre for Community Safety (YRCCS) says it is struggling as the number of clients it serves is surging.

The centre, which since 2013 has been an integrated hub for services, providing assistance with counselling, housing, employment, and legal services, says the number of clients being served has doubled pre- and post-pandemic from more than 1,000 to more than 2,000.

Its project-based funding, however, is dropping from 35 per cent this year to just six per cent in 2026. Often, this funding does not cover operations, YRCCS said.

Aiming to secure a more sustainable future, the non-profit has launched a new ‘Invest in Hope” campaign, which features a series of videos highlighting the challenges it is facing and the need for more financial support in the IPV sector, both from the government as well as from community members and businesses.

‘Desperate need for more funding support’

Jaspreet Gill, YRCCS’s executive director, said investment is needed to “make sure these regions are served, that those survivors don’t fall through the cracks.”

“There is a desperate need for more funding support for agencies like ours,” she said in a release, urging supporters to speak with their local, provincial and federal representatives.

“For victims and survivors of intimate partner violence, an investment in hope can mean safety, survival and second chances.”

Gill said despite serving nearly 850 survivors and more than 1,200 of their children last year alone, their five-person team has been struggling to keep their doors open, with a greater-than-ever need for essential services.

She added that often women who arrive at their door have been “controlled and abused physically, sexually, and/or psychologically over a number of years.”

“They aren’t able to see a path forward but are desperate to create one, particularly for their kids,” Gill said.

“By connecting them with essential services, we are providing them with the hope they need to forge and navigate that difficult path. Without adequate funding, however, we simply cannot provide these services or this critical hope.”

‘I want to survive’

Aurora, one of YRCCS’s clients, said when she met her husband he was gentle and kind.

“After we got married, he started showing his temper issue and he used a lot of different excuses, like any kind you can imagine. … I would forgive him again and again; when I was pregnant with my kids, things got worse,” she told CTV News Toronto’s Beth MacDonnell on Monday.

Aurora, who has requested to withhold her last name and not show her face for her safety and that of her children, says she endured a decade of emotional abuse. She says her husband was manipulative, would isolate her from friends and family, and would hurt her by hurting their kids.

A turning point came when, at a courthouse, a social worker referred her to YRCCS, which she credits for helping her regain her confidence and building a new life for her and her children.

“I want to survive. I just want to be safe without being scared for my kids and myself,” she said.

“Here, I can open my mind, open my heart. They teach me step by step.”

In a statement, a spokesperson from Ontario’s Minister of Children and Community Services told CTV News Toronto that YRCCS is one of 15 organizations each receiving about $118,000 in seed funding between 2025 and the end of 2027 to “prevent violence, raise awareness, and help survivors to heal and rebuild their lives.”

This investment was intended to help each organization build their capacity to deliver programs and services in their respective communities,” Chris Clarke, of Minister Michael Parsa’s office, said in an email.

Clarke went on to say that the province is addressing gender-based violence (GBV) by “enhancing cross-sector collaboration, increasing safety for women and children, and improving supports for survivors, their families, and perpetrators of GBV,” through its $1.4 billion, four-year action plan to end GBV.

Clarke added that the province funds a “broad range of supports for survivors,” including crisis support and intervention, emergency shelters, counselling, 24-hour crisis lines, information and referrals, safety planning, specialized supports for individuals recovering from sexual assault or abuse, transitional housing supports, and supports to eligible survivors to cover emergency and essential expenses.

He said that as part of Ontario’s Action Plan, between August and October 2024, the ministry put out a call for proposals to expand the provincial government’s investments to reduce gender-based violence through innovative and evidence-based projects that meet local and community-specific needs. Applicants who were successful were notified last spring, he noted.

“We are investing nearly $100 million in 100 new projects that focus on building safer communities, supporting survivors to rebuild their lives and preventing violence through education and awareness,” Clarke said.

November is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.