Tuesday, March 10, 2020

No success this time around for Prince Rupert in Harm Reduction Program roll out

While Prince Rupert had some success in education funding on Monday, the community was shut out when it comes to funding for Harm Reduction programs across the province, with the British Columbia announcing a round of funding for proposals including some in Northwest BC.

24 communities across the province have received up to 50,000 for each in funding for initiatives that will build on community wellness, safety and harm-reduction efforts related to the ongoing overdose crisis in British Columbia.

In the Northwest, two communities are moving forward with their plans.

Houston has been awarded funding for a drop-in harm reduction and wellness program, with the District of Kitimat also receiving funding towards their efforts.

They were the only two communities in the Northwest noted in this current roll out of funding.

As part of the roll out for the funding on Monday, Judy Darcy, Minister of Health and Addictions was noted as highlighting the main focus for the programs.

“Everyone deserves to live in a healthy and safe community. We know that when people come together to identify challenges and solutions, we can create vibrant communities that put residents’ wellness first.”

Some of the social issues that are going to be addressed have been frequent themes of discussion in Prince Rupert, most recently during a presentation by Sergeant Pascal Baldinger of the Prince Rupert RCMP who relayed some of the challenges that front line members face on a daily basis in the community.

The underlying issues in the community also made for some discussion at City Council when they reviewed the elements of a proposed program for Prince Rupert called the Situation Table.

So far Prince Rupert City Council has not indicated if that program will be moving forward in the community.

For more notes on Provincial funding and other items of interest from Victoria see our Legislature archive page here.

No comments:

Post a Comment