More Albertans can now access services 24/7 to free, specialized services to support them if they are experiencing domestic abuse.
The Domestic Abuse Response Team, originally launched in 2017 at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre has expanded over the past year to include 23 more communities:
- Banff
- Black Diamond
- Bonnyville
- Camrose
- Canmore
- Claresholm
- Daysland
- Drayton Valley
- Fort McMurray
- Fox Creek
- Grande Prairie
- High River
- Lacombe
- Okotoks
- Ponoka
- Rocky Mountain House
- St. Paul
- Stettler
- Two Hills
- Valleyview
- Viking
- Vulcan
- Wetaskiwin
$2.6 million in grant funding from the provincial government has allowed the expansion of family violence services in rural, remote and Indigenous communities around Alberta.
DART services can be requested at Alberta Health Services and Covenant Health emergency departments, urgent care centres and select maternity wards in the listed communities.
Healthcare providers are also proactively screening patients for domestic violence and, on identification of these concerns, offering DART services regardless of the patient’s primary medical or mental health needs.
Services from DART can help individuals access specialized risk assessment, crisis intervention, emotional support, education, safety planning, safe accommodations, information about local resources, and connection to follow-up services.
AHS plans on expanding the program to additional communities in the coming months thanks to provincial funding.
-Erika Rolling, Trending 55 Newsroom
