The Athabasca Regional Victim Services Society is in danger of folding after the Alberta’s department of Justice and Solicitor General denied its annual $130,000 operating grant.
In a letter included in the Town of Athabasca’s Oct. 16 council agenda package, Athabasca victim services chair Doreen Van Eaton said that for the society’s 26 years of operation, there had been no issues with its grant applications.
“On Sept. 17, we received a letter from (Justice and Solicitor General) informing (us) we were unsuccessful in the funding application with no explanation as to why,” she wrote.
Town Mayor Colleen Powell said she had a meeting with Athabasca victim services representatives. She said the society gets the grant annually, and without that funding, it has money to operate until March.
“And then they have nothing,” Powell said. “So the chance of us losing our victims services program is quite high. The thought is that our victim services would then move on to Lac La Biche. I think that this is a really badly thought out plan.”
In an email Oct. 19, Justice and Solicitor General senior communications advisor Lisa Glover said the Victims of Crime Committee declined the Athabasca branch’s grant application.
She also said the department would be meeting with the board this week to discuss the reasons why the application was declined.
“We are actively working with provincial partners including local police to ensure services are available to victims when the current grant expires in 2019,” she said in the email. “This includes working with the current Board as well as surrounding local Victim Services Unit boards to develop a transition plan.”
Glover also said a broader plan to stabilize funding in the area and ensure victim services are available is being developed.
“Due to considerations of confidentiality, we are not able to share details regarding the grant applications and committee decision,” she added.
Van Eaton said in the letter to town council that from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, Athabasca Victim Services carried 90 files in the Boyle area alone, which also includes the Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement.
She added that it carried 140 files in the Athabasca area, which includes Calling Lake.
“The biggest concern is the distance between the three areas especially with the (inclement) weather we often have,” she wrote. “How will this affect individuals who require immediate assistance and support whether it is a sudden death, suicide, motor vehicle incident, family violence situation or any other incident that may occur and involves police involvement.”
Town Coun. Tannia Cherniwchan made a motion that the town write a letter asking Justice and Solicitor General to restore the grant. The motion passed unanimously.
“This organization had been so busy for 26 years,” she said. “How can you honestly pull funding from someone who has done a huge job for our whole area, for so many years? And then you pull the rug out from under them? It makes no sense at all.”
Coun. Rob Balay noted that he had personal experience using Athabasca’s victim services.
“It’s amazing, the services that they offer,” he said. “It would be a bad thing. It would be sorely missed by our community.”
“It is really quite a serious issue,” Powell said.
