Safety Changes Everything: Battered Women’s Support Services

Crisis lines now open to 24/7; text messages now accepted

As you know, our crisis lines have been ringing non-stop as calls have increased by 300 percent.

Thanks to your support and some government funding, our lines are now open 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Many of you have heard of the federal government expanding its funding to sexual assault centres and shelters, however, this doesn’t actually include crisis line services such as what we do here at BWSS. This is why we are grateful to continue accepting donations from those of us who have the financial capacity at this time.

As always, if you or if you know someone experiencing violence, please call 604-687-1867 or 1-855-687-1868. Our staff are trained professionals who are ready to handle complex issues.

We know it may not always be safe to call, which is why we now welcome text messages to 604-652-1867 for support and/or information, or email intake@bwss.org.

We proudly support Two-Spirit people, non-binary folks, trans women, self-identified women and girls who are survivors of violence.

Join the community conversation on domestic and sexual violence during COVID-19

This Thursday, April 9 between 10:30 am and noon, join us for an online community conversation on the surge of domestic and sexual violence during COVID-19 organized by the BC Federation of Labour.

Our Executive Director Angela Marie MacDougall will be joined by Dalya Israel (WAVAW), Tracey Porteus (Ending Violence Association BC), Sheryl Burns (CUPE BC), Barb Nederpel (CUPE BC) and Sussanne Skidmore (BCGEU).

This conversation is open to all and is free. Please register ahead of time.

Thank you to community members for looking out for us

Thanks to TELUS for providing BWSS with phones for six months, allowing our staff to take more calls. A very special shout out to Central City Foundation for arranging these phones on our behalf!

At a time when transition houses and shelters are at capacity, we are grateful to a local hotelier who stepped up during this time of need, dedicating an entire hotel floor to women and their children seeking safety and refuge from abusive relationships.

In the media – full force getting our message out there

You may have seen our Executive Director Angela Marie MacDougall online, on TV, and on the radio recently as we reach out to as many victims as often, and in many different ways as possible.

The alarming rates of gender-based violence piqued the interest of local media including CTV, Vancouver Sun, Georgia Straight, Daily Hive, News1130, Global BC, City News, Breakfast TV, Times Colonist, Co-op Radio 100.5 FM with Don Shafer, and more.

Angela will be on Global News tonight (April 7) at 6 pm and on Thursday, April 9, she will be discussing with CBC’s Stephen Quinn at 6 am.

Our Facebook campaign has also reached hundreds of thousands of people!  Please help us spread these news stories so we can reach out to more people, making safety possible for women and their children.

Thank you for your donations

We know that many folks and organizations are asking for your attention and help right now. With that said, we hope you consider us if you have the financial capacity to extend at this time.

Your donations go far with us. It means we can keep our crisis lines open to 24 hours, seven days a week. It means talk minutes and internet data for women to stay connected to crisis lines, counsellors, and emergency services. It means translating COVID-19 information as it relates to domestic violence to different languages, reaching more women than we typically would. It means making sure women and their families have access to food cards and food delivery. We hope that you’re able to help us support survivors, and we thank you for your donations.

We look forward to your donations online or you may call 778-996-5451.