A new tool has been created to help survivors of domestic abuse and domestic violence find the support they need in Calgary.
Connect Line, an app and website launched by the Calgary Police Service and developer Colin Cheverie, is a one-stop spot for information on counselling, emergency shelters, crisis centres, addiction treatment, restraining orders, and family law.
The app provides details and contact information for more than 40 different organizations.
Calgary Police Service officials say the app will prove beneficial for those directly impacted by domestic abuse as well as friends and family members of those in need of help.
Acting Sgt. Travis Justa with the Calgary Police Service says the app will prove beneficial for those directly impacted by domestic abuse as well as friends and family members of those in need of help.
Justa adds that anyone in need of help will be able to talk to a real person at all hours of the day or night.
"Domestic violence is a real problem in Calgary," said Justa. "One of the challenges with searching for resources can be that there’s so many that exist when you Google something and so when we reached out to our stakeholders in testing, we wanted to make it so you could get in touch with someone within 60 seconds."
Calgary police say slightly more than seven per cent of all of the calls its receives are domestic related.
In 2018, officers responded to 21,000 domestic incidents, 5,300 of which were domestic violence related. The increase in domestic calls is a concern for many organizations looking to put a stop to abuse.
Executive Director with the Calgary Women’s Shelter, Kim Ruse, says the Connect Line app is a great resource for those in need. "What we hear is that there are lots of ways that people come into our service network and if we keep those doors open you hope that people will find a way back."
Ruse say there is an obvious need for the women’s shelter services as the organization is already under a lot of strain and may experience an increase in its backlog of calls as a result of the new Connect Line app.
"Our donations are down significantly, 50 per cent of our budget is fundraisers and our help line is a challenge so I expect this will increase our demand, but that’s the business and we will always be out there."
The Calgary Police Service says the app cost $15,000 to create but the cost of saving a life is worth so much more. "If we can help just one person then this is a success."
The app is available at Connect Line.
