Concern from Halifax sexual assault centres as provincial funding set to run out
Posted Feb 26, 2018 09:50:00 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A number of the Halifax's sexual assault centres are worried they may lose funding from the province.
Executive Director of the Avalon Sexual Assault Centre Jackie Stevens says the funding was provided through the provincial sexual violence strategy as community support network grants. She says the two year grants are going to expire on Mar. 31.
Stevens says those grants were given to each region in the province to initiate new sexual assault services.
“Across the province, communities were able to implement sexual assault services or sustain existing services to address the needs of their community,” said Stevens.
She says besides Avalon, there are five centres in HRM that work to address the needs of all survivors of sexualized violence. Those include the Mi'kmaq Native Friendship Centre and Man Talk.
Stevens says Avalon will have funding going into the new fiscal year, but other partners won't be as fortunate.
She says the lack of funding will cause huge gaps for community members as the centres use the money to providing exclusive sexual assault services that aren't available elsewhere.
