“Basically, nothing that came down for women’s shelters in Alberta which is certainly disappointing,” says Angela Rooks-Trotzuk, CEO with the Lloydminster Interval Home Society.
Rooks-Trotzuk points to the bigger funding picture facing women’s shelters in Alberta.
“We haven’t had an operational increase in 15 years, which is an incredibly long time and we haven’t had any increase to wages since 2015. It’s been a really long time and that’s impacting us very negatively. We are asked to pay 2023 costs with budget numbers from 2008.”
The Alberta Council on Women’s Shelters in December said that women’s shelters across the province turned away more than 10,000 requests for admission in 2021/2022.
Rooks-Trotzuk who has been at the helm since 2018 and also served at the nonprofit for over a decade says the biggest change she has seen within her organization is the amalgamation with the Lloydminster Community Youth Centre in 2016.
“That was quite a project we took on. It was pretty monumental in our community and it’s not often that you hear of nonprofits merging and coming together in that formal way.”
The Interval Home remains benevolent to community support and Rooks-Trotzuk says they are still adding up the numbers from the recently held Regimental Ball put on by the Lloydminster RCMP.
“The responsibility flows down to the community when government can’t support – whether it be women’s shelters or sexual assault centres. We need government support to keep going because it’s getting harder and harder to fundraise in communities. There are lots of people in need and there’s only so many dollars to go around at the community level. Thankfully Lloydminster supports us.”
On their greatest needs list, says Rooks-Trotzuk is to maintain their expanded placements and without the government funding they have to look at the available options to sustain the extra programming. The Interval Home has funding for 20 beds, but operates 33. The Lloydminster Community Youth Centre is also supported by similar fundraising efforts.
Rooks-Trotzuk is grateful for all the community support including their social enterprises through the Impact Depot and For the Interval Store which offers re-sale of used merchandise to the community with the revenue funding their operations at the shelter.