If men needed shelters, they'd have them, according to Francine Stark, community response coordinator for Bangor's domestic violence project, Spruce Run. Men have other alternatives, she said. There's a whole network of homeless shelters geared toward single adults and primarily populated by men. But Bob Costa of Perry was fresh out of options several years ago when his wife became angry with him, picked up a drill and hurled it at him, almost hitting toddler son. I got half a mile down the road when I realized I had no place to go.
Domestic violence is no less a hot-potato issue in Canada.
Steve Easton of Toronto found that out in 1993 when he opened an organization that provided programs for men who were abused. Despite a volunteer staff and a shoestring budget, Easton received 2,000 calls a year from throughout North America. He figured his activist days were over until a policeman knocked on his door and told him that abused men needed support. If Easton joined the force he might be able to continue his work. Today Easton is on the way to becoming a policeman, hoping to set up an organization that would help police deal with male victims.