STEPHEN RICCIO
PONTIAC Aug. 12, 2020
L’EntourElle women’s crisis centre has experienced a recent decrease in phone calls to its 24/7 help line, which is a change in course from the early phase of COVID-19 lockdown measures.
In early April, THE EQUITY reported in an interview with coordinator Ashley Nadeau that the centre had experienced . . .
an initial spike in calls during the first several weeks of the pandemic.
Since then, slightly fewer women have been calling the help line when compared to historical statistics that L’EntourElle keeps track of, according to community worker Vanessa Chabot.
The reason for that is not fully clear to the centre, and all workers can do in these situations is analyze past trends and speculate.
“We think that decline in calls on our 24/7 helpline might be related to the fact that the women have less time alone as they did before we were quarantined,” Chabot explained. “At the beginning of COVID-19 we weren’t quarantined, you could still go out. It was really sudden that you had to stay home and you couldn’t go out and you couldn’t see people, so I’m assuming that once women had to stay home and stopped working and everything, they got less opportunities to call us and tell us how they’re doing and ask for help and everything.”
There are alternative ways for women in distress to reach out to the shelter, as sometimes using the phone is not doable.
Chabot said that other methods could look like going to the store and asking a clerk to contact them, leaving a note for a neighbour, approaching neighbours while outside or leaving a note in the mailbox for a delivery person to see.
While the phone line has seen a slight dip, the number of interventions reported to the crisis centre has not changed. The same is true for sheltering requests.
Dealing with COVID-19 has been a unique challenge for L’EntourElle, as it has been for many facilities, but especially given that the shelter has nine rooms for women and is normally full.
“Well we’re doing really well considering the changes and new procedures that have been brought to our establishment,” she said. “We have prevention protocols that are in place to protect the women and the case workers.”
Much like everyone else, those staying at the shelter must be extra diligent to avoid exposure to the virus.
“The outings of our women are limited to what is considered essential as much as possible just to avoid cross contamination and contamination of the women that are in the house. We wash our hands frequently. We wear our masks in all of our common areas and we disinfect all of the surfaces as often as possible.”
For the 24/7 phone line that goes directly to the Fort Coulonge shelter, those in need should dial 819-683-2709.
