Awarding Big Hill Haven its largest government grant to date, Airdrie-Cochrane MLA Peter Guthrie was on hand March 4 to present $75,000 to the Cochrane-based women's shelter.
Big Hill Haven chairperson Valerie Gilmore said it was amazing to receive the Community Initiatives Program (CIP) grant, which marks the largest grant the shelter has ever received from the provincial government. According to Gilmore, the funds will support operations of the non-profit, including two social work positions and funding for a fund development position.
“It certainly takes the pressure off so we can start looking at other options for opening even more rooms or havens,” Gilmore said.
The $75,000 in funding was made possible through the CIP operating grant from the Ministry of Multiculturalism and the Status of Women.
Currently, Big Hill Haven has one shelter in Cochrane. Due to COVID-19, the shelter's occupancy has been limited to one family at a time. The organization has found alternative solutions for safe housing, such as providing hotel stays, but Gilmore noted this can be expensive. For example, most hotels can be up to $100 a night.
The $75,000 relieves the pressure Big Hill Haven feels to constantly be moving people on to the next step, Gilmore said, providing breathing room to provide space and opportunity to aid those in need with resources and healing.
She said that is important in a growing community that now boasts a population of about 30,000 people.
“One room that we can only put one person in, or a woman and her family or a man and his family who are experiencing domestic violence, we know that it is just not feasible,” Gilmore said. “We know there are more people who are experiencing domestic violence and we have to help.”
Domestic abuse is 90 per cent reactive in nature, Gilmore said, and the CIP grant will allow Big Hill Haven to now take steps to be more proactive and get out into the community in a different way.
She added the ultimate hope is for community members to be comfortable coming to Big Hill Haven if they are experiencing domestic abuse, or if they know someone who may need help.
“People can come to us and say, ‘I know someone,’ or ‘I’m experiencing this,’” Gilmore said. “It does give that opportunity for people to approach us and be sustainable.
“Research has proven that the person that discloses if they get a negative reaction or a wall put up, they typically will not disclose for a long, long time afterwards,” she added. “We can help you have that conversation so that people feel more comfortable to open up and talk about and provide those resources for them to be able to get the help that they are looking for.”
At the cheque presentation, Guthrie said he has been a big supporter of the work Big Hill Haven provides to the community. In early 2018, he met with the early founders of the non-profit and was struck by the impact they can make in the community.
“Any opportunity that I had to be able to help them out, I was happy to take,” the MLA said.
Support for the non-profit is more important than ever at the moment, Guthrie noted, as people are under a lot of stress due to COVID-19 and its associated financial and social impacts. This can lead to unfortunate increases in domestic violence and makes associations like Big Hill Haven all the more important.
The $75,000 grant has two streams for programming or operational funding; the grants awarded to non-profits supporting vulnerable populations and enhancing community engagement.
The funding from the operating grant supports the fees of organizations allowing them to continue to operate.
“There are so many organizations that apply and only a small amount receive it. I’m very happy Big Hill Haven was a recipient,” Gilmore said.
To date, about five CIP grants have been awarded to different organizations in Cochrane.
Guthrie said it always a pleasure helping the community and encouraged those in need of support to reach out to his office.
“We’ll be there to help,” Guthrie said.
If you know someone or if you have questions about how to recognize, react and respond to domestic abuse, Gilmore encourages you to reach out to Big Hill Haven at bighillhaven.com.
