Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton pauses intake of new clients, blames province for cut in funding

The Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton has stopped taking new clients and blames the province for cutting funds.

The centre offers counselling and other support to those dealing with sexual assault and says it's scrambling to find other avenues of help for the 20 or so new clients who come through its doors each week.

Mary Jane James, the centre's chief executive officer, said in an interview Tuesday that the pause is because it is getting less money from the province.

She said the centre gets $2.1 million in base funding per year but it will not get an extra $1.8 million it had received in 2023. It had hired more staff to bring waitlists to three months, down from 18.

"'I've been advocating endlessly to say please don't do this because our waitlist is going to crawl back up," James said.

"What [the province] communicated to me was that $1.8 million was not sustainable and they could not renew it and that clients would have to find another path forward."

The centre, which has operated since 1975, offers crisis support, counselling and legal support. Programs include counselling for children, women and the 2SLGBTQ+  community. Last year, the centre helped about 20,000 people, including more than 4,000 calls to its crisis line.

The revenue loss means having to pause intakes and lay people off, James said. She said sex assault survivors, including those referred by private psychologists, won't have a place to go.

"I think we got caught up in the crossfires of funding cuts all over the place," James said.

"I get that, but this is $1.8 million, which I would guess in the budget is equivalent to a chocolate bar. I don't think it's a lot of money to provide these services to individuals who are really struggling."

A provincial spokesperson said the base budget funding hasn't changed but declined to comment on the centre's concern about the extra funding not being renewed.

"We will continue to work with sexual assault centres, child advocacy centres and sexual violence agencies to ensure this funding goes where it is needed most," Children and Family Services press secretary Daniel Verrier said in an email.

Julia Hayter, the Opposition NDP women's status critic, said the funding cut by the United Conservative Party government is a "direct attack on the safety and dignity" of survivors.