Agape House in Steinbach is reminding women in the community that they always have somewhere safe to go when they need help.

At Agape House, their main goal is to keep everyone as safe as possible. While COVID-19 conditions have made this more difficult on their clients, they’re always looking for ways to interact with their clients and keep them moving forward.

'We've implemented many new procedures and protocols to make sure that everyone stays safe,' explains Executive Director Tracy Whitby.

She continues, 'Safety is always our first priority. Our shelter is a community living environment, so sanitization is incredibly important.'

Agape has made changes to in-house procedures by having their space professionally cleaned three times a week as well as hiring a new food prep staff. In addition, counselling services for out-of-house clients now occur over the phone or through Zoom.

While these are not ideal solutions, Whitby explains that 'it's allowed us to extend our reach, since the whole distance piece isn't as much of a challenge.'

Right now, that extended reach is especially important for those who are unable to call for help due to the changes caused by the pandemic.

'With people being home, and people out of work and people working from home, [they] aren’t always able to make that call for help,' says Whitby.

Oftentimes, people would use private time at work or home to make that call, but now that so many are lacking that private time, they’re unable to reach out for the help they need.

If you do find yourself in this situation, Whitby encourages you to search for alternative ways to reach out.

'Some of our sister shelters have texting services,' says Whitby. 'There is also an email option [for our shelter], but we don’t check that one 24/7. But if it’s not an immediate urgent case, you can message us there.'

Whitby also urges people to make the call to 911 if you absolutely have to, and get out of your situation however you can if you feel like you’re in immediate danger.

For clients out of house, there are a number of new virtual programs and activities to look forward to in the coming months.

'We actually started in December offering virtual programs,' says Whitby.

You can find a list of programs on their Facebook page. Available programs include a fitness program, an art journaling program run by one of their residential counsellors, and a project called the Phoenix Project.

The Phoenix Project is 'basically a survival guide to starting over,' explains Whitby. 'It’s based on the information we received from… people who have been through this and succeeded and have turned their lives around.'

Similar programs are offered to in-house clients too, as much as they are able to offer them with certain social distancing protocols in place.

'We do as much as we possibly can to make the process as comfortable as possible,' says Whitby, 'with lots of fresh air breaks and lots of activities to keep the kids entertained.'

Whether you need a place to stay or help to turn your life around, Agape House’s doors are open.

'There's people here, there’s help available,' says Whitby. 'Reach out for help – we're more than happy to support you and help you as much as possible.'

If you are in need of help, you can call or email Agape House, or text surrounding shelters if you’re unable to find the time to call. If your situation is dire, please call 911. For more information about Agape House, visit www.agapehouse.ca

Willow Place Inc. (Winnipeg) text line: (204) 792-5302

Nova House (Selkirk) text line: (204) 805-NOVA (6682)