More funding for Tina’s Safe Haven

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/08/2024 (477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The provincial and federal governments have increased funding for Tina’s Safe Haven to a total of nearly $1 million.

The announcement Friday afternoon came one day before the 10th anniversary of when the body of Tina Fontaine, 15, was pulled from the Red River near the Alexander Docks. A murder trial for her death ended in acquittal in 2018.

Not-for-profit organization Ndinawemaaganag Endaawaad opened Tina’s Safe Haven,  a 24-hour drop-in centre for at-risk youth aged 13 to 24, a few years after her death.

A news release said $586,000 in provincial funding will support ongoing operating costs and programming. That includes a new allotment of $400,000 through the 2024 budget. Another $400,000 through the National Action Plan to End Gender Based Violence will enable Ndinawemaaganag to partner with the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre to provide weekly public health nursing at Tina’s Safe Haven, including support from a cultural worker and mental wellness therapist.

“Tina’s life was cut short, but her legacy is enormous. We honour her memory today and every day in the sacred work we do to protect women, girls and youth,” Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said in the release.