North Bay's sexual violence support centre, Amelia Rising, is facing a long backlog in wait times for victims seeking help.
With only one full-time crisis counsellor, new executive director Erika Lougheed said the centre is in desperate need of funding.
"This is an organization that is running beyond capacity and has been for years now,” Lougheed said.
Her first priority is advocating for victims of gender-based violence.
"You can imagine the trauma and how difficult it would be to be a victim of sexualized violence in the first place,” Lougheed said.
“Having to wait for services is an absolute barrier that I would love to make sure we address."
The current wait for a victim to get free counselling services in North Bay is four months. Lougheed links long wait times to other socio-economic challenges people are facing, including income, education and housing – which she said directly correlate to increased acts of sexual violence.
"That’s a reflection of what's happening in the community,” she said.
“The more we're pushing people into poverty, the more victims of sexualized violence."
With only one full-time counsellor and one part-time counsellor currently available, Amelia Rising is calling on the Ontario government to find ways to help support violence centres across the province.
"Funding for sexual assault centres has not changed since the mid-90s,” said Natalie Austin, the organization’s public information coordinator.
“What can be done to improve services for clients? Simply for centres to start receiving more funding."
In a statement to CTV News, a spokesman for the Ontario government said the province chipped in close to $200 million to support victims of violence and $15 million for sexual assault centres last year -- with further support to come.
