WHEREAS British Columbia has the highest child poverty rate in Canada; AND WHEREAS it is documented that northern rural communities experience a higher degree of violence and abuse; AND WHEREAS womens centers not only provide services to women and children, but they also advocate on behalf of their needs and rights: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the provincial government be requested to restore operational core funding levels to all Womens Resource Centres in the Province of BC.
Ministry of Community Services The decision to discontinue provincial funding to womens centres was not a reflection on the good work done by womens centres, but rather recognition of the need to focus funding on services that are most critical to women living with, or at risk of, violence and abuse. Effective 200506, 12.5 million has been added to the annual program budget for womens services, bringing the total program budget to 46.7 million annually. This is the most significant funding increase for these programs in over a decade. This additional funding has allowed the Ministry of Community Services Ministry to enhance Stopping the Violence services for women and their children, which include transition houses, counseling programs, outreach services, and violence prevention initiatives. In rural and remote areas, issues such as geographic location, isolation, transportation, access to services, and lack of anonymity present unique challenges for women experiencing violence. Since 2004, the Ministry has funded the Community Coordination for Womens Safety CCWS project. Working primarily with rural, remote and isolated communities, CCWS collaborates with a variety of agencies including community-based victim services, transition houses, counseling programs, health, child welfare, and criminal and civil justice agencies, to ensure an effective, coordinated continuum of services is available to women. CCWS receives 300,000 annually to support local coordination committees in approximately 70 communities in the Province of British Columbia. In addition, 43 new outreach services, many of them in small rural communities, help link women to the services they need or, as necessary, provide transportation to the nearest service.