The Hope Resource Centre continues to do good work in the community despite unreliable funding.
That was one message HRC manager Sylvia Yoder delivered to Westlock town councillors during a presentation at their Aug. 11 meeting.
Yoder appeared before council to thank the town for helping the facility to receive close to $16,000 in funding — $5,000 in grants and $11,000 through the Dance 4 Hope event — as well as to update councillors about what the centre is up to.
Mayor Ralph Leriger said he felt having Yoder come to council was an “extremely responsible and welcome” thing to do.
“That’s a great approach,” he added.
Yoder touched on how busy the centre has been in the last fiscal year, explaining the centre took care of 68 female, nine male and more than 50 child victims in the last fiscal year.
Those victims received assistance for myriad types of abuse, including emotional, psychological, verbal, physical, financial, sexual and spiritual abuse, as well as neglect.
She also discussed the centre’s focus on all forms of child abuse, as it is children who suffer the most repercussions from abuse.
Yoder mentioned one finding that shows babies can suffer brain damage from merely hearing abuse take place elsewhere in the home — they do not need to witness it happen or experience it themselves to be affected.
While she was able to talk about the generalities of what the HRC does, she said it’s hard to market the centre effectively because it’s hard to give concrete examples of situations the centre provides help with due to privacy issues.
Even so, Yoder said she is still able to get the centre’s message out through its many outreach endeavours. In the last year, the centre has reached more than 4,000 people in one way or another through educational opportunities, awareness events, programs, fundraising events or through media coverage.
For all the good the HRC does, Yoder said it continues to be a struggle to keep going thanks to unreliable funding.
She considers the provincial government’s relationship with the centre and others like it to be “like a deadbeat dad,” explaining the province will often come up with ideas and programs, then download them onto the municipalities who are expected to carry on the programming on their own dime.
Leriger said the fact Yoder and the centre, as well as others across Alberta, are able to keep going in the face of erratic and unsustainable funding, deserves kudos.
“You certainly have to admire these folks,” he said.
On the whole, he said he viewed Yoder’s presentation as more about letting council know what the centre is up to and its value to the community than anything else.
“We’re thankful Sylvia and her organization are doing the good work that they are in our community,” Leriger said.
“I guess I’m saddened at the need, but thankful they’re there doing it.”
