A North Central non-profit, the North Central Family Centre, (NCFC) says it will have to look at scaling back its programming if it can’t find more funding.
“North Central is not at the critical stage right now, but it’s also finding that in order for us to sustain what we have in the present framework more funding is required it’s just a reality we face,” said NCFC Advisory Committee chair Graham Barker.
“We might have to sit down and seriously consider cutting back some of the programs we do here.”`
Established 18 years ago, the NCFC has offered after school tutoring and homework help, leadership courses, life skills lessons and more to hundreds of at-risk youth and adults.
Traditionally, the NCFC has relief on government grants and corporate donations to fund their programming, but Barker says that’s no longer enough. He says there are more non-profits than ever before while the pool of funding they can access isn’t growing. That’s why they’re turning to the public to ask for donations.
“Everybody’s knocking on the same corporate doors and applying for the same government grants. It’s very competitive,” said Barker.
Shyanne Lavallee first visited the Centre when she was 13- years-old. It’s held a special place in her heart ever since.
“One day we just, you know, came across the place and the people were friendly and it was just a place to go and have fun instead of being stuck at home,” she said.
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The centre gave Lavallee her first job when she was 16. She said that with all of the crime and poverty facing the North Central neighborhood it’s important for young people to have a safe, supervised place to spend their time.
“When I was younger if I didn’t have this place I probably would have hung out with the wrong crowd.”
Lavallee is now studying early childhood education at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. Barker said stories like Lavallee’s highlight the positive outcomes the centre creates.
“When you track people who come in here at a very young age and they’re with the centre, they go to school, they get outta school, they enter post-secondary. Then they come back and they tell us how important North Central was to their lives,” he said.
Speaking after the Regina Police Service‘s annual Showcase Thursday, police chief Evan Bray reinforced the importance of the services NCFC offers. He said the centre works to find the roots of the problems that plague the neighborhood and strives to cut them off before they can grow.
‘Crime often, if you dig into it, is not what it presents,” said Bray. “So if it presents as a domestic, or an impaired driver, often there’s underlying issues behind that. That could be addiction, mental health or a family violence.”
Chief Bray says the results are easily noticeable.
“The North Central Family Centre is one organization that digs into the root causes of crime, or social justice issues in our community, and makes a tangible difference.”
Barker said that if you aren’t convinced to donate yet, consider dropping by the Centre for a visit to see what they do. They’re always up for a chat.
“When people are exposed to the message and we have the opportunity to sit down and talk to them about what their contribution means, they freely give,” Barker said. “We are our brothers’ keeper.”
You can donate to the North Central Family Centre here.
“If we get a good public response we know that we can continue to offer services at the pace we have been.”
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