We are fortunate to have workers from youth services who get involved in the women's and children's lives right away. We involve the mother. We respect the mother's choice and the family's limits. She is the one who will get her children to understand, bit by bit, that they are in a shelter. The children often think they are in a hotel. It's big, they run around, they have a playroom and they have friends. The children always react when they come to a shelter, because nobody yells in a shelter. So they misbehave, but nobody reprimands them. It's an adaptation period. We go about things gently with the children, also to ensure that they don't feel responsible for the spousal violence.
On April 5th, 2022. See this statement in context.