Thanks, Chair.
Thank you to all three witnesses. We're going to quote verbatim a great deal of your introductory comments. The link you have made between domestic violence and economic insecurity is extremely strong. You have painted an extremely powerful picture that we're not going to get economic security and economic justice for women without ending violence against women. I hear you loud and clear.
I also hear all three of you say, extremely firmly, that provincial and federal governments have delegated the safety of women from intimate partner violence to NGO movements. We have a responsibility to fund your operations, not to make you jump through one funding application after the next. That's something the New Democrats are advocating for. I feel confident that the committee members here will hear that call loud and clear that this is a path to economic stability to provide that support in the community.
I have a question for Anne Taylor from Haven Society in Nanaimo. We heard from another women's shelter on Tuesday, the Island Crisis Care Society, who said that they've had a colossal change in the makeup of the clientele coming to their shelters, particularly elderly women who have fallen into poverty. The latter do not have stable housing, have become unsafe, and have never used a shelter in their life. Some of them are in their 80s.
I think you might have seen those same kind of changes in the makeup of people coming to you. I would like to know a bit more about what those changes mean for your staff and your budget. What's the personal impact on your staff of having an increased demand for your services?