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  Take Action: Protect Women’s Shelters

Take Action: Protect Women’s Shelters

On May 20, the Alberta Ministry of Children and Family Services announced funding reductions to more than a dozen women’s shelters across the province. Shelters in rural Alberta are disproportionately affected.

Services will be cut. Staff will be lost. And women and children fleeing violence in communities across rural Alberta will have fewer places to turn.

We are asking Minister Turton to delay implementation until the 2027-28 fiscal year and to release the full methodology behind the funding model.

Send Your Letter

The Numbers Are Clear.

These cuts hit hardest where resources are the scarcest and violence is the most common.

1.8x

Higher rates of intimate partner violence in rural communities versus urban.

2.9x

Likelier for a woman to be violently killed in a rural community than an urban one.

10+ years

Since the last operational funding increase to Alberta women’s shelters.

Our Two Asks:

  1. Delay implementation to the 2027-2028 year.
    These cuts were announced mid-fiscal year with no transition period. A one-year delay would allow shelters to responsibly adjust operations, pursue alternate funding, and minimize harm to the women and children who are depending on them.
  2. Release the methodology behind the new funding model.
    Shelters participated in consultations about a potential grant renewal, but the formula, the weighting, and final calculations have never been shared. If this model is evidence-based and objective, it should be able to withstand scrutiny. Communities deserve to understand why services are being reduced.

Add Your Voice.

Your MLA needs to hear from you. Use the letter below to contact them directly and ask them to advocate to Minister Turton for a delay and greater transparency.

The letter below is pre-written and ready to send. Feel free to personalize it with your own words.

Name(Required)
Address(Required)

Dear [MLA name],

The Alberta Ministry of Children and Family Services has announced funding reductions to 13 women’s shelters across Alberta. I am deeply concerned about the impact these cuts will have on Albertans, especially those living in rural areas, where rates of intimate partner violence are nearly twice as high as in urban communities. Shelters are being asked to absorb these cuts with little warning, mid-fiscal year,
with no feasible transition period.

Local women’s shelters are not optional: they are essential safety infrastructure, and funding decisions must reflect that reality.

I am asking you to bring these concerns to Minister Turton and advocate for:

  • A delay to the implementation of these funding reductions until the 2027-28 fiscal year
  • Full public disclosure of the funding model methodology, including how need and geographic isolation were considered in the calculation.

Thank you for your time and your service to our community. I hope I can count on your support on this issue.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]
[Your email address]