Fundraising launched for child abuse recovery centre

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This article was published 20/04/2022 (1609 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

INSTEAD of responding to children who’ve been abused by taking them to police stations and moving them from silo to silo for services, a plan is underway to take them to a warm, welcoming place in Assiniboine Park.

“We’re creating a space where children and families impacted by abuse can come and have all of their needs met,” Christy Dzikowicz, executive director of Toba Centre for Children and Youth, said at a news conference Tuesday to announce a $15-million “We will” capital campaign for the project.

The Toba Centre (formerly known as Snowflake Place) operates out of offices in downtown Winnipeg, with limited child-friendly space to interview fewer than 10 per cent of child abuse victims in Manitoba. The rest are interviewed at police stations or by Child and Family Services workers in the community.

To access services they need to heal, children and caregivers are required to navigate a complex system and go from place to place.

“Assiniboine Park will be home to a new centre to where police, child protection, medical care and the community supports can work together under one roof,” said Dzikowicz.

The renovation of a city-owned building at 710 Assiniboine Park Dr. has already begun with a $15-million capital campaign.

Premier Heather Stefanson announced $2 million toward the project at Tuesday’s media event.

“The Toba Centre… is dedicated to supporting our most vulnerable Manitobans — children who have been abused — with a wide range of wraparound supports,” said Stefanson, who became familiar with the centre in her time as justice minister.

“They work tirelessly to make sure children’s voices are heard and they have the supports they need to move forward and heal from their trauma.”

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman called it a “place of hope” and a “supportive space” for victimized children. “It’s a tranquil site, in a beautiful area surrounded by trees and nature.”

Winnipeg city council voted unanimously to lease the surplus building to the centre.

Seeing so many community leaders at the news conference supporting the initiative to help trauma victims heal — including Manitoba RCMP commanding officer Jane MacLatchy and Winnipeg Police Service Chief Danny Smyth — was encouraging, said Manitoba regional chief Cindy Woodhouse of the Assembly of First Nations.

“I’m glad to see all of us in this room together, trying to make a difference and doing things differently,” Woodhouse said. “We can’t keep going the same way. It’s not working.”

The Toba Centre estimates 4,000 child abuse cases are investigated in Manitoba every year and that many more go unreported.

“What we can do is decide how we want to respond when a child is hurt,” said Dzikowicz. “We know all too well the impacts of child abuse can be devastating and lifelong, but they don’t have to be. As a community, we can change that story.”

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said Manitoba is a “major hub” for human trafficking and the sex trafficking of children. The provincial government should be funding the new facility its entirety, he argued.

“It is outrageous that children who have been subjected to sexual abuse and sexual exploitation have to depend on fundraising for a centre to be built for them to be interviewed, so interviewers and police can all work together,” Lamont said.

“If (the Tory government) were truly serious about this, they would put the entire amount down and it wouldn’t be up to fundraisers to determine whether and when this will be built.”

— with files from Danielle Da Silva

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca