Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton secures $85K donation one week after halting intakes
Posted March 17, 2025 6:57 pm.
Last Updated March 17, 2025 7:03 pm.
The Edmonton community is coming together in support of the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton (SACE) after they had to pause intakes due to financial concerns.
About $85,000 was raised by CanadaOne Auto Dealership after the centre paused intakes for its counselling services, which it said was due to a provincial grant drying up.
“It may not make our problems go away but it makes our hearts really full,” said SACE CEO Mary Jane James. “I’m so grateful for the community to have our backs.”
A total of seven dealerships across Edmonton joined forces to provide financial support to the centre, which provides free counselling and support to sexual violence survivors.
“I know it’s just a drop in the bucket but any kind of awareness that we can generate so that other people can open their pockets and help out, that’s the main goal,” said Camille McCrindle, the chief of staff and relations manager at CanadaOne Auto Group.
The community-based initiative comes days after the centre temporarily suspended intakes for some of its services. They said the government did not renew a $1.8-million two-year grant in their 2025 budget, which was initially issued when the centre’s waitlist was 18 months long.
“With that there were very strict conditions,” said James. “Get the waitlist down and keep it down. Do what you need to do. Hire the staff. We got it down.”
Searle Turton, the minister of children and family services, says the grant was a one-time thing and says SACE receives nearly $2.1 million in operational funding.
“There has been no cut to the operational funding for sexual assaults centres throughout the province,” said Turton. “We continue to increase the funding with the $1.5 million increase we did this year.”
SACE says the operational funding doesn’t allow them to re-hire staff to keep the waitlist down.
“If we can’t get any of those people in, it will be six months to a year before the waitlist is up to a year and 18 months, no doubt,” said James. “We already have a three- to four-month waitlist of people who are waiting.”
