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Interval House pleased with funding for upgrades

Jun 28, 2018 | 3:00 PM

Battlefords Interval House was one of a number of emergency shelters in the province to benefit from funding through a joint federal and provincial government funding program.

The governments of Canada and Saskatchewan have been working in partnership “to improve housing options for victims of domestic violence,” according to a statement from the Province. The Battlefords women’s shelter received $76,000. In total, the funding program contributed $4.2 million to support 14 projects in nine Saskatchewan communities through the Shelter Enhancement Program. 

Battlefords Interval House Interim Executive Director Krista Abbott said she believes this may have been one of the biggest-ever grants for the facility from the governments.

“We are pleased and excited at the support we have received from the shelter support program,” Abbott said in an email to battlefordsNOW.

She said the facility was able to make a number of improvements that were completed last fall with the funding. The Battlefords facility has upgraded its flooring, lighting, decking, and parking space. Abbott said the kitchen was also made larger with the funding and “more accessible” for the women who use the shelter.

“It is vital to allow us to continue to improve our facilities and provide the critical support to women and children fleeing domestic violence,” Abbott said.

She said Battlefords Interval House has long-term goals to build a garage and perhaps convert the basement into livable space to accommodate more clients if the shelter receives more funding in the future.

“Women make up 80 per cent of victims of police-reported intimate partner violence,” Federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale in a statement. “We all need to work together to end this and other forms of persistent gender-based violence in Canada.”

 

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

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