The Bonnyville Canadian Native Friendship Centre is hoping the town can lend them a helping hand to continue running the food bank.
On Oct. 25, friendship centre representatives were in front of town council to make a plea for $20,000 over three years, as their federal funding continues to be challenged.
“Under our new funding from the federal government, the Urban Aboriginal Strategy (UAS), funding has been dramatically changed. With the changes over the past two years, it has finally reached a point where our referral worker position is no longer eligible. Fifty per cent of the wages for the position were funded through our core-like funding, but this year it's being run from donations,” explained Lori Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Bonnyville Native Friendship Centre.
While they receive funding as a friendship centre, they aren't allowed to use that money to run programs such as the food bank, community kitchen, or community closet. According to Fitzpatrick, this is because the federal bureaucrats in charge of friendship centre funding are solely focused on initiatives that will help people become an economic participant.
“We try to list it in there as if people don't have a full belly they can't function, but they aren't looking at it that way.”
The food bank has seen an additional strain over the past year with increased usage of 97 per cent, and new clients still coming through the door. In just six months, from April to September 2016, the food bank has served 1,072 clients. Comparatively, for the April 2015 to March 2016 fiscal year, there were 1,570 people through the doors in 12 months.
In September alone, the service saw 50 new clients. For one year, Fitzpatrick has projected it's going to cost them $53,000 to run the food bank, not including overhead expenses. A portion of that is for the referral worker position; a crucial role for the local centre as they can't rely solely on volunteers when it comes to confidential information from clients and recording stats to be reported to the Alberta and Canada food bank associations.
To make matters worse, the funding for the entire friendship centre is in jeopardy.
“As it stands right now, I don't have guaranteed funding for the upcoming fiscal year, so I have to find a way to pay everyone,” expressed Fitzpatrick, explaining to council that its currently in negotiations.
“We have been advised that for the first four months for the next fiscal year, we will see a delay in funding. All of the centres across Canada won't see any core-like funding until an agreement is reached. With the changes to the government, it's slowly trickling through. They don't know if they're even keeping the Urban Aboriginal Strategy, everything is just so up in the air for the friendship centres.”
The $20,000 ask from the town would be divided into three years, with $10,000 the first year and $5,000 the following years.
For the first year, the money would be used to increase food bank storage areas, provide an additional freezer, and ensure there's no interruption to serve while the National Association of Friendship Centres negotiates a new contract. Dollars set for year two would provide workshops to clients that utilize the food bank to “ensure that they have the skills to reduce food bank dependency and increase ability to be self-sustaining,” such as budgeting sessions and low-cost meal preparation. In the final year, the $5,000 would be used to continue hosting the workshops.
Similar initiatives have already been started at the centre, to ensure only those who truly need the food bank are benefitting from it.
“I started seeing my clients by appointment only... I've had people call and say ‘I'll be there' and then don't even bother to come. I've had quite a few clients that just haven't show up for their appointment, so how desperate are they? Quite a few that called in September still haven't called back in October. This will weed out those people that take advantage of us, and there are a lot,” said Pauline Mawer, assistant executive director.
Starting in the new year, a mandatory budgeting course will also be implemented for those using the food bank.
“This is the community's money and donations, and we want to be accountable for it. We want to give it to where it's needed,” Mawer noted.
Fitzpatrick further said that the financial support from the town would also help them leverage for outside investors and demonstrate to potential funders their ability to increase sustainability.
Council was sympathetic to the friendship centre's plight. Mayor Gene Sobolewski offered to write a letter to the federal bureaucrats, expressing council's dismay over the decisions that have been made.
“I'm kind of appalled that they would pull funding like that, and delay funding for four months until someone decides to negotiate an agreement.”
Coun. Jim Cheverie added, “I thought the mandate of Justin Trudeau was to reverse all of the indigenous hardships, and here they're just putting it back on.”
The $20,000 funding request will be further discussed by town council as part of their 2017 budget deliberations.
