Ian Wheeliker is the Director of Programs and Member Support for ACWS (rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Brody Langager

incidents on the rise across province

Women’s shelters workers in Alberta receive danger assessment training

Feb 18, 2021 | 4:53 PM

Domestic abuse and assaults are on the rise in Alberta, and the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (ACWS) is equipping their staff to more readily deal with it.

The council has been delivering Danger Assessment training courses virtually for frontline shelter staff to be more informed on the likelihood of abuse escalating to homicide.

The sessions have over 150 frontline workers taking part, and over 40 shelters across the province have been involved.

The Danger Assessment Tool that ACWS is using was developed by Dr. Jaquelyn Campbell in 1986, and has been evolving ever since.

“Working with Dr. Campbell, the ACWS Danger Assessment training combines a trauma-informed approach with in-depth understanding of the research and technical aspects of the tool.” says Jan Reimer, ACWS Executive Director.

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“Most shelters do safety planning, period. But this tool assesses things like, has he ever threatened you with a weapon? Has he ever indicated he would commit suicide? Those are two huge big red flags when it comes to domestic homicide or femicide, for women,” says Ian Wheeliker, Director of Programs and Member Support for ACWS and formerly with the Central Alberta Women’s Emergency Shelter in Red Deer.

Alberta has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in Canada, so the ACWS wants to use data-informed practices like the Danger Assessment Tool to inform women at risk and get insight on the state of domestic abuse in the province.

“We are also going to be moving towards training other community agencies as well, because the tool has been so important in the work within shelters. That’ll be coming in the next year or so,” Wheeliker adds.

If you think you think you may be in an abusive situation, Wheeliker says they’re making their outreach services easier to access.

“You don’t have to go into a shelter to access the services and the assessment that shelters can provide.”

If you think it’s a domestic abuse situation, Red Deer RCMP want you to dial 911 for emergencies or the police non-emergency line at 403-343-5575.

If you need to speak to someone at a shelter and connect with their outreach services and assessments, you can call the 24/7 hotline at 1-866-331-3933.

For more information on the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters, go to https://acws.ca/.