Yellowknife (Aug 11/03) - It's only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed at the Yellowknife women's shelter, says the centre's executive director, Arlene Hache.

Arlene Hache and Kari Neilsen clean up the mess left after a woman staying in the shelter became enraged, assaulted a staff member and threw items around. - Merle Robillard/NNSL photo

A critical problem right now, she said, is that they don't have enough staff to control women who become violent at the shelter.

Last Tuesday, a woman at the shelter became enraged and attacked a staff member with a shoe.

Most of the women staying there were frightened, and quickly disappeared as the woman swept items off a table, including a computer and huge coffee pot that crashed to the floor.

The person who called the police was put on hold by the dispatcher, said Hache, and it took RCMP about 20 minutes to arrive. That's too long to wait when violence is escalating, she said.

Hache fears something worse will happen one day.

"It's an accident waiting to happen. When something does happen, there'll be an inquiry, a coroner's inquest or something like that. And they'll say we should have done this and this and this."

Only one staff member was working last Tuesday.

That's all they can afford, said Hache.

They are already $56,000 in debt this year and have bounced staff pay cheques three times.

The lack of money and staff creates a dangerous situation because some of the women who stay there have psychiatric illnesses and sometimes become violent.

The Centre for Northern Families receives $274,000 a year from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to operate the centre's 24-hour-emergency shelter.

Health and Social Services contributes $30,000 towards Hache's salary and the department gave them $110,000 last year when they were running an even larger deficit.

Hache said it's expensive to pay staff round the clock when the mortgage is $4,000 a month. "We can't function," she said. "We're slowly choking."

After last Tuesday's episode, the woman -- who has been to jail before for a violent assault -- was charged with assault with a weapon, assaulting a police officer and mischief.

She's been ordered not to come within 15 feet of the centre.

"I don't want her to stay 15 feet away," said Hache. "I want proper protection."

Yellowknife's commanding RCMP officer, Insp. Paul Richards, told News/North police respond as quickly as possible to violent situations. He said people calling the RCMP's emergency line are sometimes put on hold because the dispatcher is busy handling emergencies from across the territory.

"It's not a lack of caring or concern," said Richards.

Hache and Richards met to discuss the situation and both said the meeting was productive.

Shelter staff also met and decided women who have a history of violence will not be allowed into the shelter if they are high or drunk.

Hache said they are working on other measures.

"One of the things we did today was meet with the hospital before they released someone who had been violent," she said. "Before they could stay here they had to give us an action plan and commit to taking their medication. And if they don't

take their medication, they don't stay here."