A troubling crisis is unfolding across Alberta's domestic violence shelters: fewer people are escaping abuse not because violence is declining, but because survivors simply cannot afford to leave.
The Alberta Council of Women's Shelters (ACWS) released its 2024-26 impact report Wednesday, revealing a stark reality that challenges common assumptions about domestic violence trends in the province. While shelter admission numbers have dropped since 2023–24, shelter leaders say the data masks a humanitarian emergency.
"The housing and affordability crisis is having a real impact on survivors and their ability to leave domestic violence situations," said Cat Champagne, executive director of ACWS, which oversees more than 50 family violence shelters across Alberta.
The Cost of Escape
Breaking free from an abusive relationship comes with staggering financial barriers. Survivors face rent deposits, utility hook-up fees, furniture purchases, and household essentials—often for themselves and their children—all while starting from financial ruin.
"If you were to move into a new place, there's a lot of costs that come along with that. You've got rent, damage deposit, deposits on utilities, you've got to set up a whole household — whether that's clothing, furniture, all of those things — and a lot of those times, you're doing it for yourself and your kids."
Research shows that on average, a woman attempts to leave an abusive relationship seven times before achieving permanent escape. Each attempt requires resources many survivors don't have.
Financial Abuse Compounds the Crisis
The shelter system also tracks a hidden epidemic: financial abuse. Many survivors have never controlled their own bank accounts. Abusers weaponize money, freezing accounts, controlling access, and using economic manipulation to maintain power.
"We see so many women in shelter that have never even had access to a bank account, or their accounts have been kind of frozen or kept from them, or that their abuser has used finances as a tool, you know, some type of economic abuse or financial control that they can manipulate with," Champagne explained.
Faced with the choice between staying in dangerous situations or risking homelessness and food insecurity, many survivors choose the familiar danger.
Where Are the Missing Survivors?
Between 2025 and 2026, a staggering 82 per cent of calls requesting shelter admission went unfulfilled. The ACWS describes this statistic as deeply concerning.
"That doesn't necessarily mean that we are seeing a drop in domestic violence. It doesn't mean that shelters have worked themselves out of a job," Champagne said. "That's what's really concerning to us — where are women going and why are they not coming to shelters?"
Shelter stays are lengthening significantly. The average emergency shelter stay has increased roughly 50 per cent since 2019, creating bottlenecks that prevent facilities from helping new residents. Survivors remain in temporary housing longer because permanent, affordable housing remains out of reach.
A System Under Strain
Miranda Pilipchuk, manager of research and evaluation at ACWS and lead author of the impact report, stressed that economic barriers represent a fundamental failure of the system.
"In so many cases, the numbers are lower because it's just too expensive for people to leave abusive relationships," Pilipchuk said.
The ACWS report highlights growing pressure not just on survivors, but on the shelters themselves. Reduced capacity, longer stays, and mounting demand reveal a system stretched beyond its limits by Alberta's ongoing housing affordability crisis.
For Calgarians and Albertans concerned about supporting survivors, organizations like WestNet Humanitarian Services provide emergency and community support pathways.
This report is based on data released by the Alberta Council of Women's Shelters. For more information, contact your local domestic violence shelter or call the provincial Family Violence Information Line.
Information sourced from Global Calgary.