Boundary Women's Coalition receives $20,000
By Contributor
The Boundary Women’s Coalition has received funding from the province’s civil forfeiture program towards its Youth Crime Prevention project.
“Reducing instances of sexual exploitation and providing support for victims is a critically important service,” Boundary-Similkameen MLA Linda Larson said. “By providing these services, the Boundary Women’s Coalition is helping to create a safe community for our youth to grow up and thrive.”
A grant of $20,000 will support youth aged 13 to 18 who may be or are at risk of being sexually exploited. This project will use a multi-agency approach utilizing RCMP Victim Services, the Boundary Women’s Transition House and a variety of other community agencies in partnership with the Children of the Streets Society to address and prevent drug-facilitated sexual assaults.
“This funding supports bringing youth at risk of being sexually exploited together to learn how to take care of themselves and others,” said Connie Marchal, executive director, Boundary Women’s Transition House. “This will give them a united voice so they can prevent future violence, and it provides our whole community with the opportunity to take a stand against violence.”
This year, the priority focus for civil forfeiture grants is on initiatives that address violence against women, and support the Violence Free BC strategy. Other areas where funding was made available included serving victims through restorative justice, community and youth crime prevention, and police education, training and specialized crime prevention equipment.
Since the civil forfeiture program became active, it has returned more than $16 million from successful forfeiture actions to crime prevention grants and victim compensation payments in B.C.
