Rowan House Child Care Room

The Rowan House Emergency Shelter is gearing up for one of the busier times of year that they face.

Executive Director Sherrie Botten says it's not just Christmas but is picks up even more in the new year.

"Sometimes women are able to find someplace for themselves or their family's to be over Christmas, but come January everything gets very very hectic and things seem to fall back into place and we find that our January numbers really increase in terms of women needing the help of the shelter," Botten says.

She says it also become difficult for the women at the shelter to transition to safe, affordable housing which adds to the stress.

"We're also seeing a lot more calls just because of the downturn in the economy, we know that that's often when difficult situations can just get a little bit tougher," she says. "So with the downturn, and I think it's probably going to continue for awhile, we're anticipating that we're going to get more calls and have a greater need."

The shelter's Holiday Wish Book campaign is now underway. To help go to www.rowanhouse.ca.