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Notes from the Editor

Kai-Lee Klymchuk

Imagine you are a woman in your mid-'thirties, with two children - one with special needs. After several years in a violent marriage, and the extinction of any hope that things will get better, you decide to leave. You have no local family, no job, and depression and anxiety make daily living a chore. You're very worried about the pets you'll have to leave behind, and how you'll afford the prescriptions and special diet your child requires. There are, unfortunately, many women like you living in British Columbia. For the sake of discussion, let's call you Trish.

Were you looking for help a year ago, you might have found it difficult, but now, it could be impossible to get ahead without the support of historically available health and social services. In the last few months, BC's Liberal government has introduced cuts to these services that have been routinely described as "massive" and "deep". A swath remains in the budgets for child care programs, schools, affordable housing for the poor, health and mental health services, batterer treatment programs, criminal justice programs, legal aid, social assistance, women's centres, and criminal and family courts.

Who are the victims of these policies? Trish, and many other women like her living in BC. And numerous others...

Consider another scenario. Michael is a young man who has summoned the courage to leave a family home that he's been physically assaulted in for years. He didn't complete high school, has little work experience, and no safe place to live. At first he thought of turning to welfare, but fortunately, was able to secure a job where he earns a $6 an hour training wage. At this rate, Michael can't afford the counselling he needs to deal with the anger and depression he feels, but has been put on a wait list to see someone at a local social service agency. He's been told he could be waiting for a year or more. In the meanwhile, he's got to find a place to live. In Vancouver, rents start at $550 a month. He'll pay a significant amount of the paltry $840 he makes a month (before deductions) on accommodation. How will Michael get by, never mind get ahead?

Some people may be insulated from the wounding many British Columbians have experienced as a result of these cuts. One thing's certain: people living with family violence are not.

For a detailed analysis of the impact of these cuts on people affected by family violence, download the fact sheets on our website at http://www.bcifv.org/cuts/index.shtml.