The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Carol Anne Haley, Minister for the Status of Women:

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that our government and the Transition House Association of Newfoundland and Labrador are partnering on a dedicated, province-wide domestic violence phone line that will “go live” next week.

The Transition House Association’s membership consists of ten provincially funded shelters in the province. These shelters are staffed by highly skilled and compassionate individuals whose mandate is to counsel and assist women who are facing violence.

The Domestic Violence Help Line will have a single telephone number for the entire province. The service will detect the region from which the person is calling and route the call to the closest transition house. The caller will then be able to immediately speak with a trained professional who will assist them directly, or connect them to the appropriate service or organization in the community, including our women’s centres, Violence Prevention NL organizations, or medical and/or policing services.

I am also pleased to say this new phone line will have full texting capabilities.

Mr. Speaker, more information on the Domestic Violence Help Line, including the new toll free number, will be released in the coming days as soon as details are finalized.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all Honourable Members to join me in thanking our transition houses and all women-serving organizations for the tremendous work they have done and continue to do as we make our way through COVID-19.

Thank you.