Times Advocate, 1995-01-04, Page 9Second section - Janua 4,1995
Phoenix
Home a
white
elephant?
Not so, says the local
coordinator, stating that .despite
a slow start, more victims of
abuse are calling it home
EXETER - First proposed four
years ago, it sparked one of the
biggest controversies in Exeter in
years. Today, the Phoenix of Hu-
ron apartment building sits quietly
on Carling Street, much less con-
troversial than before its foundation
was started.
In 1990 the Survival Through
Friendship House women's shelter
proposed that three small apartment
buildings be built in Huron County:
one in each of Goderich, Clinton,
and Exeter. Exeter town council
initially turned the project down as
a group home in a residential zone,
but re -considered when more was
teamed about the project. Neigh-
bours, however, complained that
the Phoenix proposal to provide
geared -to -income apartments to
women leaving their abusive part-
ners was not in keepjng w.ilbt.the
single-family home residential area.
But with new plans for a more at-
tractive building, the project went
ahead and the ribbon cut on the six -
unit building in June 1991. _
The three buildings cost $2.2 mil-
lion under federal and provincial
programs, and cost an additional
$500,000 to operate each year.
Three and a half years later, has the
"experiment" to bring "second
stage housing" (post women's shel-
ter) to a rural area been as success-
ful as first envisioned in 1990?
Arlene Timmins, the present co-
ordinator -of Phoenix of Huron,
agrees she has had her misgivings
about the project over the years, but
-has to conclude it is providing a
needed service in the county.
"We're still not that well known
in the community," said Timmins,
which is why Phoenix actually ad-
vertised its 21 apartments in local
newspapers in recent months as
"rent geared to income apartments
in Clinton, Exeter and Goderich,
for women and children who have
experience abuse".
That does,,lint necessarily mean
the buildings are going empty, even
though many, including town coun-
cil, have cast doubts on whether the
apartments were in use, or needed.
"We did have a time in Exeter
when there weren't many people
[tenants] and it was empty for a
time," said Timmins, but stated the
Exeter building has been full for
the past six months.
The Goderich building has fre-
quent requests for apartments, but
the, Clinton Phoenix Home is cur-
rent ' Inlet".
-Given the numbers of omen in
Huron County who leav their hus-
bands and partners ov r violence
and abuse, why aren't the apart-
ments more in demand? Timmins
points to the Huron County Voices
survey of 400 people who were
asked that, among other questions.
"The reason given was 'she'd be
embarrassed'," said Timmins,
claiming that still suggests that be-
ing a victim of abuse still carries an
element of shame or blame.
"In our community everyone
knows if you're living at 236 Car-
ling Street," said -Timmins, noting
that because second stage housing
is partly government funded, there
is that added stigma and backlash.
Three Phoenix Stage Two Housing apartment buildings were built in Huron County in 1991, this one on Carling Street in Exet-
er. Aimed at providing low-cost housing to women restarting their lives after abusive relationships, organizers say they have a;
hard time making the most -use of the apartments they know are needed in a mostly rural area.
Timmins did agree, however, that
having the buildings in relatively
small towns is Tess private thatn the
'comparatively anonymous build-
ings used in the cities.
Still, Timmins said' the Exeter
Phoenix Home has been well re-
ceived by "a really supportive com-
munity", particularly since Bonnie
Baynham started as its full-time
counsellor advocate.
Timmins contrasts that to how
the other Phoenix of Huron homes
are treated. She said one is subject
to a "level of' anger"
from neighbours, who
often nitpick even how
the garbage is set out
at the curb. ,
Phoenix of Huron Is
pof a Canadian Al-
liance of Second Stage
Housing, comprising
only 40 such agencies
across the country.
"There are not that
many second stage housings across
Ontario," said Timmins.
Even thoygh second stage hous-
ing is available in London, Strat-
.�...�, Woodstock, and Owen Sound,
J it got available in the Kitchener
area, o-instartcp. Timmins said
she can only suggest that Huron
County got ahead of •the other cen-
tres in line because of cooperation
between various leVels of local
government.
There were times, however, when
"When
she wondered about the decision to
invest that capitk in this region.
"When Exeter was empty for a
while, we did ask ourselves 'do we
have a need for •this?'," she said,
and added that Phoenix even
looked at "alternatives" for the
empty apartment building. In all,
though, Phoenix has provided sub-
sidized, secure, apartments and
counselling to some 80 women
with 150 children over the past
three and a half years at all three
buildings. Timmins said three ap-
plicants are inter -
Exeter viewed for each one
was empty for accepted under the
a whilew8 prom' The average
inl,
Atay In, one of the
=; buildings is '-
ourselves 'd0 months, but tenants
we have a can stay for up to a
year, or more under
need for
this?'," s O ie circumstances.
rthe st years,
Phoenix has noticed
peculiar trends in the demand for
second stage housing. April to July
represent the peak demand for the
apartments, with November and
December usually being quiet.
Many tenants will move out just be-
fore September, perhaps to co-
ordinate with their child's school
year, suggested Timmins.
With no rural models to base it
on, one of the original theories put
forward by those who first sup-
ported Phoenix was that Huron
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County women would prefer to re-
turn to their communities after
leaving a women's shelter. That ac-
tually hasn't proven to be the case.
In fact, some 25 percent of applica-
tions are coming from outside the
county, from women who want to
return home to their family and
friends. But the Goderich home
gets the most applications because
it is close to the main counselling
services, and the Court House.
In retrospect, Timmins said if
Phoenix were to start all over
again, "it would have been easier to
have one building" - likely in
Goderich, but she acknowledges
there are advantages to having the
three locations.
'Today, I think things are work-
ing rather well," she said.
There are second stage housing
agencies, one in Hamilton for in-
stance, that don't have buildings of
their own, but instead provide as-
sisted apartments in existing build-
ings. That may be a less expensive
alternative, said Timmins, but such
arrangements can't provide the se-
curity of a dedicated building, and
"can't provide the support that
women provide each other when
the staff isn't there".
Security is an issue. The Phoenix
building has controlled entry„plus a
"panic button” in each apartment.
Timmins said Phoenix has had
high risk situations "maybe 10
times in the past three years, which
isn't all that many".
One recent case in Exeter in-
volved an abusive partner stalking
a tenant.
"The guy was right there, in our
building, harassing staff, which was
quite frightening," said Timmins,
noting that the security of the Phoe-
nix apartments is one thing the
women say they want the most.
Living the buildings requires
some rules to preserve its security
and supportive atmosphere, she
said. The "hard rule" is tha,,no
men are allowed on the premises, at
any time, except for moving day.
That may be hard, but Timmins
said that eliminates any question of
which men are allowed in the build-
infriuid whirs f trete-rio :- none -are;
puttittrg the other tenants minds at
rest.
So while Phoenix of Huron has
not proven itself the white elephant
sotne feared it might be, Timmins
said the organization has a way to
go to increase the demand for its
services. The challenge, she said,
is to "educate" the community to
erase the stigmas associated with
spousal abuse, allowing women to
come forward with their problems.
"If our community got as re-
sistant to this kind of behaviour as
they do to drinking and driving,
then we'd have more applications,"
said Timmins.
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