BC Friendship Centres Facing Funding Crisis NEWS RELEASE from Annette Morgan, President. BC Assn of Aboriginal Friendship Centres For Immediate Release March 10th, 2014 The BCAAFC Provincial Board of Directors met on March 8, 2014, and passed a motion to issue the following press release. BC Friendship Centres Facing Funding Crisis Musqueam Territory/ Richmond, BC – Friendship Centres in BC are facing a crisis. Due to a February 6th, 2014 announcement by the Government of Canada to eliminate the Aboriginal Friendship Centre Program (AFCP), core funding that Friendship Centres have been receiving for over 40 years is in jeopardy effective April 1st, 2014. The lack of adequate notice of changes to this long term funding relationship has jeopardized the ability of many BC Friendship Centres to properly plan for transition. BC Friendship Centres have a legitimate expectation of adequate notice. With the Government of Canada’s recent announcement to impact negatively on funding for Friendship Centres and with the lack of notice provided, Aboriginal people who depend on these services will be further marginalized. With a majority of Aboriginal people now living in urban areas, the programs and supports offered by Friendship Centres are crucial to the safety and stability in the lives of thousands of Aboriginal Peoples. With Cultural Connections for Aboriginal Youth (CCAY) funding for high risk Aboriginal youth also being eliminated, we will see a further rise in the number of Aboriginal children taken into foster care, higher rates of suicide, increased levels of child hunger, and increased suffering of our young People. This will also impact negatively on the ability of urban Aboriginal People to participate in the economy. Friendship Centres are the largest network of Aboriginal social service agencies in BC. They provide a wide range of programs and supports to the urban Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal population and have been doing so for over 40 years. With 25 agencies and over 1000 employees across the Province, BC Friendship Centres provide essential programs and supports to 1300 people per day in areas such as health, education, homelessness, employment, elders and youth, and improving the quality of life for Aboriginal people. BC Friendship Centres are calling on the Government of Canada to work with the National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) to ensure that funding for Friendship Centres is in place for April 2014. We also call for an immediate resolution to the funding crisis facing Friendship Centres and to ensure that the capacity built over the last 40 years is protected and sustained in order to avoid the impending crisis facing Aboriginal children and families. For more information contact: Paul Lacerte Executive Director, BCAAFC placerte@bcaafc 250-388-5522
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 18:25:08 +0000
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