Funding for a sexual violence resource in Pinawa, Man., has been restored after it was cut last month.
On April 3, Ottawa’s justice department emailed Survivor’s Hope Crisis Centre (SHCC) that funding for its Sexual Assault Recovery and Healing (SARAH) program had stopped a few days prior. It left the program tens of thousands of dollars short, and meant the program would likely have to be discontinued after May.
“We went very public with that information to sort of have a last-ditch effort to not have to shut down the program and leave all of our survivors stranded without our support,” Coral Kendel, executive director of the centre, told 680 CJOB.
On Thursday, she found out that funding had been restored at $167,808 over three years.
“We’re feeling (they) must have heard our cries and heard our calls, and made that decision to continue the funding again for the next three-year period,” she said. “It’s really incredible news.”
She noted the restoration means stability for the program, and those who use it.
“When we consider the fact that someone who might choose to seek legal means of justice after a sexual assault, their case can be tied up in courts for two years. So at this point, we could support someone at the beginning of their experience all the way through to the end as they heal, and support them through the justice system as well,” she said.
But Kendel said it goes beyond the legal system — which some survivors do not opt to go through.
“It really creates a lot of stability so that we’re not creating further harms to disrupt the important relationships that we’re building with the folks we work with,” she said.
Previously, Kendel told Global News the SHCC’s SARAH program is one of a kind in the entire Interlake Eastern Region, and noted the program delivers hundreds of counselling sessions around the region annually for people 13 years of age and older.