Grey County Council is committing $26,000 towards the Women’s Centre Grey Bruce to support infrastructure projects. Funding was approved during a session of Committee of the Whole and will come from the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative, a federally and provincially funded program that supports local housing priorities.
On November 14, Heather Sheldrick and Lindsay Brown from Women’s Centre Grey Bruce presented to the Community Service Committee, sharing statistics about the centre and the Anti-Human Trafficking (AHT) Youth House. In 2022/2023 the centre provided nearly 5,000 days of shelter for women, children and their pets, and answered more than 1,000 calls to their crisis line. The centre also helped create safety plans, provided court support, and offered free clinical counselling to those in need.
The AHT Youth House provided service to 13 youth in 2022/2023. The program is geared to youth 15-18 years old who are at risk of being or are survivors of human trafficking. The program includes housing, counselling, and outreach with an educational and workforce component. In early 2023, the Women’s Centre purchased a new space for the AHT Youth House and is renovating the space into an eight-bedroom home equipped with the essentials needed for participant healing and recovery.
“The Women’s Shelter is a vital service in Grey County that helps women and children overcome abuse. Grey County’s funding will support meaningful capital improvements through the centre so these important services can continue,” said Grey County Warden Brian Milne.
More information and donation details about the Women’s Centre Grey Bruce and AHT Youth House can be found at www.thewomenscentre.org.
Grey County’s community services committee meets approximately once per month. This committee is focused on health, human and social services provided by Grey County and partners in the community. Community Services agendas and minutes can be found on the County’s website, www.grey.ca.
