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By Heather Cameron
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Taber Safe Haven Women’s Shelter Society recently received a Capital Maintenance & Renewal Initiative Grant for $45,000 from the Alberta Social Housing Corporation.
“The Capital Maintenance and Renewal Initiative gives us the opportunity to replace failed building components in order to keep our capital assets in safe operation,” Elisha Boulay, president of the Safe Haven Women’s Shelter Society, said.
Boulay says that the Shelter Society applied for the grant due to the fact that the Outreach Center’s stucco exterior was beginning to fail and that water seepage from the west side of the building was beginning to show up in the basement’s offices.
“We remediated the leak but overall, the exterior siding needed to be replaced,” Boulay said. “We were notified at the end of March that our capital project was approved, and we would receive the funding. We can begin the work on the Outreach building as soon as we’re ready and the rest is allocated toward new gravel for our parking lots. A project like this is an extra cost above our regular budget, so we appreciate that Alberta Social Housing Corporation sees a need to assist with larger maintenance projects.”
The Safe Women’s Shelter Society, Boulay says, uses a community-based response to bring together health, education, criminal justice, law enforcement, and community agencies in providing direct services. Boulay says that the Society has a good working relationship with many community agencies in Taber and surrounding area, and partners with them to enhance programs and assist clients.
“We are always extremely grateful to receive money to ensure we can continue the important work we do,” Boulay said. “Fundraising is also an important part of our budget. Funds raised or donations we receive ensure we can continue our programming and services. Over the past couple of years, we’ve hosted raffles to assist with us reaching our budget amount. We also are regularly scheduled at Winner’s Bingo which gives us a consistent unrestricted income.”
The Taber Safe Haven Women’s Shelter Society, Boulay says, is dedicated to helping women and children in crisis and are currently able to offer emergency shelter services, child support, outreach services, 24-hour crisis support, and public education.
“We support clients through crisis, court proceedings, safety planning, obtaining ID, accessing counselling and medical assistance, obtaining employment, and securing housing,” Boulay said.
Boulay says that the supports are provided by a very committed volunteer Board of Directors, staff team, and many others that donate their time. There are currently volunteer board members there that have anywhere from three to 20 years of service.
“This is an admirable amount of time to invest in an organization. We are so grateful for all our volunteers and their commitment,” Boulay said.
The Taber Safe Haven Women’s Shelter Society, Boulay says, is currently looking for help with bingos, as they are required to have 10 people for each shift. Volunteering with the Taber Safe Haven Women’s Shelter Society, Boulay says, is always a lot of fun and volunteers get a meal during their shift.
For more information about the Taber Safe Haven Women’s Shelter Society or to find out how to volunteer, visit http://www.tabersafehaven.ca.
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