The women's shelter in Medicine Hat, Alta., will start accepting men and their children on Monday.

Shelter organizers say the change is to recognize that men can be victims of domestic abuse, yet they struggle to find emergency housing.

"Sometimes we've had requests from men with their children needing shelter for the night, so I'd be really happy to be able to say, 'Yes, come on in,'" Medicine Hat Women's Shelter Society executive director Natasha Carvalho told the Calgary Eyeopener.

Men seeking help

The society currently offers men one-on-one counselling, access to group activities and other programs but has had to turn away any seeking accommodations.

Seven per cent of victims receiving help, such as counselling, from the Medicine Hat society are men, she said. In the past year, there have been four requests from men for overnight shelter.

"It's a small [group] but it's mighty enough that it made us think about doing things differently," she said.

Before the change, male victims could go to the Salvation Army men's shelter but they couldn't take their children. Instead, they would often couch-surf or stay in abusive homes, Carvalho said.

"There's definitely a need for support in our city, and we are the only [family violence] shelter," she said. "We just wanted to make sure we were able to accept all victims of family violence."

'They're all victims'

Shelters in Strathmore and Brooks also offer such accommodation, and Carvalho said her organization consulted those shelters for advice and heard their shelters were running well after allowing men.

She said the communal nature of a shelter helps people realize they're not alone in their experience. She said women at the shelter have been supportive of the change, and should issues arise, they will work through those.

"It makes sense. They're all victims of family violence," she said. "They actually share a lot in common, and, you know, they want to support each other."

The shelter has separated bedrooms, including one of the main floor that's barrier-free. When that one isn't needed for people with mobility limitations, that will be given to a man, Carvalho said. The room also has a private bathroom, so any man staying there wouldn't share showers with other residents.

The shelter already allows transgender clients, she said.

With files from Kathryn Marlow and the Calgary Eyeopener.